12:00a.m. 5th July 2008

| By Nathan Woulfe

If only the TAB ran markets on FOGS Cup rugby league.

After losing the first 13 matches straight, imagine the odds on offer for backing the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles to win the next three straight.

A win today over Souths Logan would earn a small fortune. Enough to retire the whole squad.

But three on the trot is very much a reality, after the Sea Eagles reinvented themselves two weeks ago, downing Aspley 22-10 before returning to Stockland Park last week to dispose of Burleigh.

They punched above their weight against Burleigh last round, accounting for the fifth-placed Bears 16-10, and will step up yet another division against the Magpies this afternoon, who currently hold down third position on the FOGS Cup ladder.

If there was any bloke you’d want to call the shots from the sideline against the Magpies, it would be Sea Eagles’ coach Brandon Costin, who along with current assistant coach Rhett Tronc left the Souths Logan fold at the end of last year to take up positions with the Coast side.

Fair to say that would be a motivating factor for the visitors – the opportunity to show the departed that they are travelling just fine without them.

But there are bigger issues for Costin to broach, namely securing the club’s third consecutive win.

“Neither myself nor the players have time to worry about these so called ‘grudge’ factors as motivation for the game,” Costin said.

“We have enough to worry about with completing game KPI’s and ensuring a very solid preparation for Souths who have had a good year to date.

“If people want to spice things up with the grudge factor than that is great but it is not what is driving us.

“We start from scratch this week and last week counts for little in the scheme of things.”

The FOGS Cup fixtures are being played as a double-header with the Maroochy RSL Cup round, starting with FOGS Colts at 1pm, and the Sea Eagles at 2.30.

Kawana host Bribie Island immediately afterwards, with reserve grade at 4pm, and A-grade 5.45pm.

Sea Eagles team: 1. Dennis Sandow, 2. Mitch King, 3. Michael Anschau, 4. Ashley Koehler, 5. Jason Schmidt, 6. Kristian Freed, 7. Ben Whiddon, 8. Jason Wardrop, 9. Damian Gripske, 10. Sean Huirama, 11. Steven McPhee, 12. Rohan Molineux, 13. Matt Mannion; Interchange: 14. Matt Proberts, 15. Dane Blewitt, 16. Kris Boyce, 17. Nick Patterson.