Intrust Super Cup Round 23 Preview
The Intrust Super Cup Round 23 is going for quality over quantity this weekend, as it offers up just five games, but four of those five games feature all of the top 6 and two are match ups between those Top 6 sides.
The only other game is between sides who are outside the top 6 with no chance of making the finals, but are amongst the most in form teams in the competition.
The minor premiership race and order of the top 6 could be clearer after this weekend, or it could be opened up further still.
A brief rundown of all the games is below.
Stay in touch with all the games and results with our Intrust Super Cup Match Centre.
BURLEIGH BEARS v MACKAY CUTTERS
Saturday 4pm
The Intrust Super Cup Round 23 kicks off on the Gold Coast featuring two of the competition’s in form sides, but strangely neither will be playing finals football after leaving their run too late.
Burleigh, who went winless in five games to start the season, have now won six of the their last eight and includes wins over Top 6 sides Townsville and Sunshine Coast. Mackay have one less loss in that period with 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in eight.
The Cutters have had an influence in the chase for the minor premiership over the past few rounds, drawing with the Hunters in Port Moresby and beating the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Mackay, both results have allowed Redcliffe, Easts, Souths Logan to close in. Their side has no big names, just a solid team unit that has found premium form just a game or so late.
Burleigh have some big names, returnee Jamal Fogarty being one the headlines, and is no coincidence that the Bears turnaround has coincided with his return. A great clash with no great consequence awaits.
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS V PNG HUNTERS
Saturday 4:05pm
Live Stream via QRL Website
One of the Intrust Super Cup’s newest rivalries is one of its better ones, and the next instalment of the Blackhawks v Hunters kicks off on Saturday afternoon. It is the first of two all Top 6 clashes for the weekend, and will have a big say on the race for the minor premiership.
It is the Hunters toughest game of their final three and a win in Townsville will have them in the best position to claim a maiden minor premiership, a prize they lost out to Townsville in 2015 by just a point. A loss will open up the race to just about every team in the top 6 except Townsville who are currently seven points behind with three rounds to go.
PNG bounced back from the loss against Redcliffe with a good 20-4 win against Ipswich, and hopefully the late season blemish at Dolphin Oval was the loss they had to have on the way to the minor premiership and they have named a strong a side as has been seen in 2017.
There’s nothing wrong with the Blackhawks side either, they have no less than the competition’s leading point scorer in Carlin Anderson at the back, speedster Jonathon Reuben, and a quality halves pairing in Kyle Laybutt and Michael Parker-Walshe.
For all the quality of the backlines, the battle of the forwards will be key, and both sides offer plenty in particular the match up of the two number 13’s Dan Beasley and Stanton Albert.
The game is available to watch via a live stream courtesy of the QRL website, and will be well worth a view.
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS v NORTHS DEVILS
Saturday 4:30pm
An important home game awaits the Falcons on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday afternoon, it is a game against a Norths Devils side who have lost three in a row and won just once in 11 games. On paper it looks an easy win for the home side, but as the Intrust Super Cup has proven this season , no game is a certainty.
The reward for the win is there for the Sunshine Coast, as the two competition points on offer will keep them in the race for the top two, and with the Hunters having such a difficult fixture they could take advantage.
The Falcons big worry in the past few months has been consistency – their previous form is LWLWLWLW, and whilst that is the nature of a team whose team can change from week to week with the feeder arrangement with Melbourne, which the Storm use so well, they can’t afford to do that comes finals time, especially if they land outside the top two and are in knockout mode for the finals.
It should still be a Sunshine Coast win, but the Devils players have a few more attempts to send outgoing coach Mark Gliddon out with another win. They should be safe from being dragged into the battle for last even if they don’t.
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS v TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS
Saturday 7pm
Redcliffe can smell a second consecutive Minor Premiership, coming good at the right time of the year with three straight wins after two losses in a row previous to that.
One of those wins was a very impressive win over the competition leading Hunters at Dolphin Oval, and they are now within three points of the PNG side and with a bye and guaranteed two points to come in the last three weeks.
Talking of guaranteed points, this match up against the Tweed Heads Seagulls appears on paper to one of those for Redcliffe, but not to forget that earlier in the year the Seagulls stunned the competition by beating the then competition leaders Redcliffe convincingly at Piggabeen.
Tweed Heads followed that up a few weeks later by beating the PNG Hunters in Port Moresby no less, their second victory over a competition leaders in a short space of time. So a win against quality opposition is not out of the question. And the Hunters are coming up soon too.
Tweed Heads have been last on the ladder for a large chunk of the season, and are currently enjoying a brief stint above other sides and a win in the last three rounds will give them a chance to avoid the dreaded wooden spoon. At the other end of the ladder Redcliffe will know the result of the Hunters v Blackhawks match before this game, and the minor premiership could be a step closer if they win on Saturday night.
SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES v EASTS TIGERS
Sunday 1:40pm
TV Game
There’s only one game on offer on Sunday afternoon, but for the fans in SEQ and the TV audiences across Queensland they should have a cracking game to watch.
Both sides have been the silent achievers of the 2017 Intrust Super Cup, the Tigers sit just four points from first and have lost just once in seven matches. The Magpies are a point further back but have had their second bye, no there are no guaranteed two points to come for them.
It appears Easts will have to do it without rising star Brodie Croft who will be called up to the Storm on the weekend, but in Brayden Torpy and Billy Walters have plenty of quality in the halves to cover his loss. The halves battle is a good one, with the Magpies combination of Matt Minto and Sam Scarlett also in fine form throughout 2017.
Nate Myles has been named for the Tigers, and will provide some general interest in the game. But the bigger point of interest for both sets of fans is gaining advantage over their opponent from this weekend and keeping a chance at a top two spot alive for another week, and at minimum a top four spot and guaranteed home final.
INTRUST SUPER CUP ROUND 23 TIPS
Follow our tipsters below for their selections for the upcoming weekend of Intrust Super Cup. We have no less than the CEO of Intrust Super and Penrith Grand Final hero Scott Sattler.
Brendan O’Farrell – CEO Intrust Super
Burleigh Bears
PNG Hunters
Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins
Souths Logan Magpies
Scott Sattler – Channel 9 and Penrith Legend
Burleigh Bears
PNG Hunters
Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins
Souths Logan Magpies
Dan White – Nothing But League’s Northern Queensland and NRL Contributor
Burleigh Bears
PNG Hunters
Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins
Souths Logan Magpies
Shannon Meyer – Nothing But League Contributor
Burleigh Bears
PNG Hunters
Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins
Easts Tigers
HOW ARE WE TIPPING?
| Tipster | CORRECT | GAMES | % | Last Weekend |
| Scott Sattler | 93 | 145 | 64% | 6 |
| Matt Crowhurst | 52 | 83 | 63% | NA |
| Shannon Meyer | 88 | 145 | 61% | 5 |
| Brendan O Farrell | 86 | 145 | 59% | 5 |
| Dan White | 84 | 145 | 58% | 4 |
