Easts emotional trip to Piggabeen

The Intrust Super Cup picks up the Origin enforced NRL slack this weekend with a round of 6 great games around Queensland. There’s the first trip to Port Moresby for the competition as the Hunters move their home game to the capital.

With high flying Ipswich Jets and Wynnum Manly Seagulls having the weekend off but getting the 2 points as a reward, it is a chance for the competition to have a four way tie for first if Townsville lose and PNG Hunters win. Although it will take the season’s biggest upset of last beating first for that to happen.

Former Origin player Dave Taylor also makes an appearance for the Tweed Heads Seagulls on Sunday against Easts at Piggabeen.

Whilst there’s no games in Brisbane this weekend, fans can always check the team’s twitter feeds and the QRL website for live streaming of the away games.

Mackay Cutters v Redcliffe Dolphins at Stadium Mackay on Saturday – 6pm

Mackay have done it tough lately with their last three games being decided by two points or less, one of those was a win against the Northern Pride in Cairns. Last weekend’s loss to the Blackhawks was no disgrace and they still remain equal fifth.

They may find it easier against a Redcliffe side who have now lost all their momentum of three in a row last month which culminated in a 50+ win over Central with two straight losses against Wynnum and Sunshine Coast. The Dolphins are also 0/2 against sides north of Rockhampton so far in 2015, so another stat going against them.

Cowboys hooker Rory Kostjasyn has been named for the home side, and will bring valuable NRL experience at the right time for the Cutters to claim a top 5 spot. Their coach Kim Williams will also want to go out a winner with Mackay and it was announced during the week that he will coach Central from next season.

Looks a home win on paper.

Prediction: Mackay by 16
Last Year: Mackay 22 Redcliffe 12
Odds: Mackay $1.30 Redcliffe $3.35

Teams:

Mackay Cutters: 1. Sam Clune 2. Jordan Pereira 3. Tyson Martin 4. Justin Tavae 5. Buchanan Rawhiti 6. Cameron Cullen 7. Liam Taylor 8. Brad Lupi 9. Michael Sio 10. Chris Gesch (c) 11. Brenden Treston 12. Coen Hess 13. Aleki Falepaini 14. Josh Chudleigh 16. Joss Boyton 17. Rory Kostjasyn 18. Ryan Kinlyside

Coach: Kim Williams

Redcliffe Dolphins: 1. Josh Beehag 2. Tristan Lumley 3. Joe  Bradley 4. Tom  Opacic 5. Curtis Johnston 6. John Brady 7. Luke Capewell (c) 8. Charlie Faingaa 9. Darcy Etrich 10. Jon Green 11. Aaron Whitchurch 12. Harley Aiono 13. Tyson Cleal 14. Logan Harris 15. Tom Geraghty 16. Nick Ritter 17. Taylor Brown

Coach: Troy Lindsay

CQ Capras v Townsville Blackhawks at Browne Park on Saturday – 6pm

Big news announced during the week that current Mackay Cutters coach Kim Williams will be joining the Capras from next year, giving them a coach with premiership experience.

The Capras are a long way from a premiership in 2015 as they have registered just the one win all the way back in Round 1, and the arrival of this year’s competition leader and premiership favourites could be just about the hardest way for the home side to break their duck.

Townsville have hit a little bump, which they have avoided for the majority of this year’s competition after a loss to the PNG Hunters and a close win against Mackay either side of a bye. The loss to the Hunters coincided with Origin 1 where the Cowboys were playing, and having a look through their named side this week there is no sight of a weakened Blackhawks this time around.

It is easy to tip the favourite in a game where first plays last, so why wouldn’t you. Plus I am relieving myself of tipping Central as I seem to be a bad luck omen.

Prediction: Townsville by 20
Last Year: N/A
This Year: Townsville 50 Central 12
Odds: Central $6.40 Townsville $1.10

Teams:

CQ Capras: 1. Reece Baker 2. Jake Ainsworth 3. Tarrant Mariner 4. Dan Randall 5. Hayden Buckman 6. Matt Minto 7. Mark Johnstone 8. Rajan Opetaia-Halls 9. Josh Mitchell 10. Gavin Hiscox 11. Garrett Field 12. Guy Williams (c) 13. Ian Webster 14. Clinton Mooney 15. Dean McAdam 16. Corbyn Kilday 17. Josh Johnston

Coach: Lionel Harbin

Townsville Blackhawks:  1. Jahrome Hughes 2. Zac Santo 3. Noel Underwood 4. Kyle Feldt 5. Jonathan Reuben 6. Tom Humble 7. Michael Parker-Walshe 8. Lorenzo Maafu 9. Anthony Mitchell 10. Daniel Beasley (c) 11. Glenn Hall 12. Rhyse Martin 13. Neville Costigan 14. Nathan Norford 15. Chris McLean 16. Kelepi Tanginoa 17. Ricky Thorby

Coach: Kristian Woolf

PNG Hunters v Souths Logan Magpies at BSP Stadium, Port Moresby on Saturday – 7pm

The excitement machine that is the PNG Hunters keeps rolling on in the Intrust Super Cup as they have beaten first and second in consecutive games on a run of six in a row. What looked to be the dreaded second season syndrome appears to have been dismissed and they are now within 2 points of the leaders in 4^th.

This weekend they move their home fixture from the now traditional Sunday afternoon at Kokopo to a Saturday night under lights in Port Moresby. The ground in the nation’s capital looks a little more luxurious than their usual ground, but it will still be filled with plenty of enthusiastic support and will no doubt be a hard venue for any visiting team.

The team to have the honour of travelling away in Port Moresby is the Souths Logan Magpies, whose form turn around continues to be strong, despite being winless against the might of Ipswich and Wynnum Manly. Souths Logan pushed the Seagulls very hard last weekend on Stradbroke Island, and don’t look too far off being a very competitive outfit in the Intrust Super Cup. The only issue appears to be conceding a lot of points against the top sides, (90 points in 2 games) and playing a side who love to attack like the Hunters it isn’t a good stat. They also haven’t beaten the Hunters in 3 attempts.

The Hunters are unbeaten at home in Kokopo this season and everything points to being the Hunters this time, but maybe not by as much as you think.

Prediction: PNG by 4
Last Year: PNG 42 Souths Logan 12
This Year: Souths Logan 18 PNG 40
Odds: PNG $1.20 Souths Logan $4.35

Teams:

PNG Hunters: 1. Stargroth Amean 2. Oti Bland Tony 3. Noel Zeming 4. Thompson Teteh 5. Adex Wera 6. Israel Eliab (c) 7. Ase Boas 8. Henry Noki 9. Wartovo Puara 10. Esau Siune 11. Kato Ottio 12. Lawrence Tu’u 13. Adam Korave 14. Brandy Peter 15. Edward Goma 16. Willie Minoga 17. Enock Maki 18. Timothy Lomai 19. Sebastian Pandia

Coach: Michael Marum

Souths Logan Magpies: 1. Josh Damen 2. Paul Rokolati 3. Dallas Anderson 4. Scott Doyle 5. Matt Trnka 6. Jack Joass 7. Ashley Taylor 8. Aotealofa Tuimavave 9. Travis Waddell 10. Andrew Edwards 11. Joe Boyce 12. Dan Tamou 13. Phil Dennis (c) 14. Herschel Gideon 15. Hansel Semau 16. Sam Gardel 17. Leon Panapa 18. Rhys Jacks 19. Jack Anderson

Coach: Josh Hannay

Burleigh Bears v Norths Devils at Pizzey Park on Sunday – 1.40pm
TV Game Ch9 – Replays on Fox Sports

The TV cameras arrive on the Gold Coast to watch the Burleigh Bears take on Norths Devils. Burleigh bounced back from some big losses to give the luckless Central another game to add to their winless run. Hopes will be high that the Bears can put another struggling team away this weekend.

Norths are on a bad run of form, and combining the two games before their bye last weekend it reads 10 points scored to 92 conceded. Norths probably won’t welcome the TV game either, as they are 0-3 on Channel 9 this season.

One thing in Norths favour is a decent record against the Bears and a rare win for the Devils in 2015 came against Burleigh earlier in the season which will give some confidence of an upset. Not enough for us to tip against the odds though.

Prediction: Burleigh by 8
Last Year: Burleigh 24 Norths 22
This Year: Norths 20 Burleigh 12
Odds: Burleigh $1.20 Norths $4.35

Teams:

Burleigh Bears: 1. Tyler Chadburn 2. Jaiden Hawkes 3. Jamie Dowling 4. Dimitri Pelo 5. Connor Broadhurst 6. Connor Toia 7. Ryley Jacks 8. Mitch Sharp 9. Tom               Rowles 10. Josh Ailaomai 11. Ayden Lee 12. Louie Fanene 13. Darren Griffiths (c) 14. Marino Allen 15. Andrew Vela 16. James Dunley 17. Pele Peletelese

Coach: Jim Lenihan

Norths Devils: 1. Joel Bailey 2. Rogan Dean 3. Dylan Galloway 4. Ryan Millard 5. Michael Lucas 6. Dan Murphy 7. Liam Tyson 8. Matt Mizzi 9. Will McNee 10. Chris Faust 11. Nathan Lowrie 12. Rhett Webster 13. Krys Freeman (c) 14. Steve Elliott 15. Billy Solah 16. Richard Tuala 17. Josh Afoa

Coach: Mark Gliddon

Sunshine Coast Falcons v Northern Pride at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Sunday – 2pm

The last time the Sunshine Coast beat Redcliffe before last weekend they celebrated their only win for the year. The progress of the Falcons is in evidence this year with a solid 4 wins already and two lots of two wins in a row. The question is now whether they can make it three for the first time this year.

One thing going against them is the lack of their Melbourne affiliated players due to the Storm having to play their annual game in the NRL without the origin stars. Ben Hampton and Kurt Mann have both been outstanding in lifting the Falcons to two recent wins, but their names are missing from this week’s line up, and a real point of interest is to see how they fare without them.

The Northern Pride have no such worries with the Cowboys on their Origin enforced break, but they had a tough run of fixtures against Wynnum Manly and Mackay but have been hot and cold throughout 2015 and remain one of the harder teams to tip every week.

Head to head it looks like the Pride will enjoy their trip south, but a lot will depend on who comes back from the Melbourne side.

Prediction: Pride by 10
Last Year: Sunshine Coast 14 Pride 15
This Year: Pride 34 Sunshine Coast 10
Odds: Sunshine Coast $3.10 Pride $1.35

Teams:

Sunshine Coast Falcons: 1. Sam Wright 2. Sam Young 3. Rueben Baillie 4. Travis Robinson 5. Suliasi Vunivalu 6. David Oakes 7. Jake Turpin 8. James Ackerman 9. Jay Lobwein 10. Ryan Hansen 11. Jye Ballinger 12. Jake Samoa 13. Tom Murphy (c) 14. Brett Doherty 15. Johnny Vuetibau 16. Mboya Adams 18. Sam Sotogi

Coach: Glen Dreger

Northern Pride: 1. Hezron Murgha 2. Linc Port 3. Brett Anderson (c) 4. Luke George 5. Semi Tadulala 6. Ryan Ghietti 7. Sam Obst 8. Jack Svendsen 9. Jason Roos (c) 10. Patrick Kaufusi 11. Vaipuna Tia Kilifi 12. Regan Verney 13. Ben Spina 14. Cameron King 15. Tom Hancock 16. Sheldon Powe Hobbs 17. David Murphy 18. Alex Starmer 19. Brent Oosen 20. Keelan White

Coach: Joe O’Callaghan

Tweed Heads Seagulls v Easts Tigers at Piggabeen Sports on Sunday – 3pm

The Easts Tigers return to the football field after a bye last weekend and likely with a lot of sadness after the passing of Grant Giess last weekend. They will be looking to put in a big performance for their team mate and the Seagulls will know they’re in for a tough game.

Easts are looking for the Gold Coast double having beaten Burleigh at Pizzey Park earlier in the season, and their first half against the Devils before the bye should have a lot of the teams very wary of the attack they can produce.

Tweed Heads let a good opportunity for an away win in Cairns go last weekend as they went scoreless in the second half as the Northern Pride overcame the half time deficit. They have an oversized ace up their sleeve this week with the Titan’s Dave Taylor making his seemingly annual appearance for the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

The hulking forward will be very keen to show all the ability that has led to Origin appearances at the height of his powers is very much still in his possession and it will be an interesting part of Sunday’s game.

Tweed are 3-2 at home this season and they lie in the midfield 4 points from their fifth placed opponents from this week, and a loss here could make it very difficult to see them playing any finals football.

Prediction: Easts by 4
Last Year: Tweed Heads 23 Easts 14
Odds: Tweed Heads $2.07 Easts $1.72

Teams:

Tweed Heads Seagulls: 1. Shaun Carney 2. Nathanael Barnes 3. Leva Li 4. Blake Anderson 5. Kalifa Faifai-Loa 6. Ricardo Parata 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Damian Sironen (c) 9. Sam Meskell 10. Oliver Percy 11. Dave Taylor 12. Dane Clarke 13. Sam Saville 14. Karl Lawton 15. Mark Offerdahl 16. Caleb Binge 17. Will Bugden

Coach: Aaron Zimmerle

Easts Tigers: 1. Maeli Seve 2. Donald Malone 3. Eddie Tautali 4. Michael Kai 5. Matt Duffie 6. Shaun Nona 7. – 8. Foisa Peni 9. Tommy Butterfield 10. Liam McDonald 11. Dane Hogan (c) 12. Jake Foster 13. Dean Britt 14. Francis Tualau 15. Matthew Zgrajewski 16. Brenton Horwood 17. Billy Walters 18. Brentt Warr

Coach: Craig Ingebrigtsen