Just two weeks of the regular season to go, and the Intrust Super Cup Round 23 is a big deal at the tops as the top four teams all play each other. The minor premiership and a rest for the first week of the finals probably won’t be decided this weekend, which is fine by us as it makes for even more excitement next week.
Further down, the battle for the remaining finals spots has reduced after last weekend, and those spots could be decided this weekend, but probably won’t.
The wooden spoon could be decided this weekend with Mackay needing to win at minimum. And probably will.
Here is our Intrust Super Cup Round 23 preview with the best of the Queensland Cup action, plus all the team news and our fearless predictions.
Sadly, there are no games in Queensland on Sunday this weekend. Just the Hunters clash in PNG. With the only NRL game in Queensland on Thursday night, it is another missed opportunity for rugby league fans in Queensland.
THE BATTLE FOR THE TOP
Conveniently the top four all play each other this weekend, and all four teams have a chance at the top two and a home final,.
Redcliffe took the points in Townsville last weekend, and the Blackhawks have to back up this weekend with a visit of third placed Burleigh Bears. All three of these teams have been swapping the lead for the second half of the season.
Burleigh are the side who have taken the fewest points in the second half of the season – currently with a 50% win rate in the 10 games since Round 13. Redcliffe lead that stat for the Top 3 sides with seven wins and a draw, Townsville are a draw further back. Unsurprisingly Easts lead the second half report with eight wins from 10 games. Northern Pride and PNG Hunters are also on seven wins.
Back to this weekend’s games, Burleigh v Townsville will be an interesting clash. The Bears have dropped a few points at home, and Townsville aren’t quite as effective in SEQ than up north, but with the quality of players involved it should be a clash that lives up to the top of the table billing. An interesting side clash will be Luke Page v Francis Molo in a battle of two big men.
The other top four games sees the Northern Pride going for the double over the Dolphins after surprising Redcliffe in Round 10 at Dolphin Oval. Although unlikely, the Pride can still finish in the top two, conversely they will need to stay one win ahead of the in form Easts Tigers to guarantee a home final. The Pride have done well to cope without their star half Jake Clifford who has gone on to bigger and better things.
Redcliffe are guaranteed a home final at some stage, but a minor premiership will be a nice reward for a very good season under Adam Mogg. They will be without Jonus Pearson who is out for the season after breaking his wrist last weekend.
HOW THEY STAND
REDCLIFFE 1st 31pts +179
TOWNSVILLE 2nd 30pts +229
BURLEIGH 3rd 30pts +122
PRIDE 4th 28pts +80
NEXT GAMES
REDCLIFFE – Pride (A) Falcons (H)
TOWNSVILLE – Burleigh (A) Wynnum (A)
BURLEIGH – Townsville (H) Tigers (A)
PRIDE – Redcliffe (H) Tweed (H)
THE BATTLE FOR THE FINALS
The TV Game on Saturday between the Tigers and the Magpies is one between two teams in vastly contrasting form. Easts Tigers are charging into the finals as the competitions form team (seven wins from eight), Souths Logan meanwhile continue to plummet down the ladder on the back of just one win 10 games. NRL big man Sam Kasiano joined in the fun last weekend by scoring on debut, and has been named again this week for the Tigers. That won’t help the Magpies break their losing streak, especially with players like Brodie Croft and Scott Drinkwater in such form. With the Tigers for and against, they can still finish fourth and get a home final.
Easts may have the best second half season form, but the longest run of current consecutive wins is held by the PNG Hunters on five straight wins, as they also make the charge from midfield obscurity to finals contention. Aside from the big win against Norths in Round 19, those wins have come from hard graft. Some could argue this is perfect for finals football, and after seeing the way they held off the Magpies at Davies Park a few weekends ago, it is hard to argue against. Or that they are just getting home, and will be found out in September. Not forgetting that two of those five wins have been against the Pride and Bears. This week it is Wynnum visiting Port Moresby, who are finishing the season well with three wins from four as current form. Decent away record too. Hunters won’t want to take eye off the ball.
Ipswich Jets are just behind the Hunters, and on a three games winning streak that includes a defeat of the Dolphins at Redcliffe. They easily defeated the Central Capras last weekend, and they welcome a Tweed Heads Seagulls side who have won just once in their past seven games. Ipswich need to keep winning, and should really do so. Just a shame that Ch9 Sunday Footy Show chose to have a cheap laugh at Dave Taylor from the footage of last weekend’s match in Ipswich, instead of highlighting some of the Jets infamous ad-lib play, speed of Michel Purcell or the hero Nat Neale. With the NRL coaching merry-go-round in full swing, surely a club could take a risk with the Walker brothers.
The Devils have been hot and cold leading into the finals, they have beaten the Townsville Blackhawks, but lost other three of their last four games. This has seen them drop to outside the top six and need to win more game than the Tigers or Hunters which is hard to see on current form of the teams above. They do have the easiest fixture on paper travelling to Mackay, the Cutters haven’t won since they last played….the Norths Devils in Round 9. That day saw a strong 26-10 win to Mackay at Bishop Park.
Sunshine Coast Falcons will head into 2019 with a new head coach – after their current coach Craig Ingebrigtsen announced he is leaving at the end of the season. The Falcons are almost mathematically out of finals contention, but can at least try and finish the year with a couple of wins. Ironically this week they take on the Central Capras, who themselves are going to head into 2019 with a new coach after announcing former Cowboys, Huddersfield Giant and Kiwi International Daivd Faimu as their new head coach. The Capras have more worries for 2018, trying to avoid the wooden spoon.
HOW THEY STAND
EASTS 5th 26pts +101
HUNTERS 6th 26pts +18
IPSWICH 7th 24pts +5
NORTHS 8th 24pts -21
FALCONS 9th 22pts +26
NEXT GAMES
EASTS – Magpies (H) Burleigh (H)
HUNTERS – Wynnum (H) Central (H)
IPSWICH – Tweed (H) Norths (A)
NORTHS – Mackay (A) Ipswich (H)
FALCONS – Central (A) Redcliffe (A)
THE BATTLE FOR THE WOODEN SPOON
It is all against the Cutters in their attempt to avoid the wooden spoon. They need to win (winless since Round 9) and need the Capras to lose. And then do it all again next week. Their last win was against this week’s opponent Norths, who are still fighting for a finals spot, so plenty to fight for both sides.
The Capras take on the Sunshine Coast who have less to play for, knowing two wins in their last two games will probably still not be enough to make the top six. But they will put themselves under massive pressure if they lose with the in form PNG Hunters to visit in the last round. The game will be played in Gladstone, where the Capras don’t have the greatest record.
HOW THEY STAND
CENTRAL 13th 12pts -210
MACKAY 14th 9pts -302
NEXT GAMES
CENTRAL – Falcons (H) PNG (H)
MACKAY – Norths (H) Magpies (H)
Intrust Super Cup Round 23 Predictions
BRENDAN O’FARRELL – CEO INTRUST SUPER
Easts Tigers to beat Souths Logan Magpies
Ipswich Jets to beat Tweed Heads Seagulls
Burleigh Bears to beat Townsville Blackhawks
North Devils to beat Mackay Cutters
Sunshine Coast Falcons to beat CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins to beat Northern Pride
PNG Hunters to beat Wynnum Manly Seagulls
ADRIAN VOWLES – FOG
Easts Tigers to beat Souths Logan Magpies
Ipswich Jets to beat Tweed Heads Seagulls
Burleigh Bears to beat Townsville Blackhawks
Mackay Cutters to beat North Devils
Sunshine Coast Falcons to beat CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons
Northern Pride to beat Redcliffe Dolphins
PNG Hunters to beat Wynnum Manly Seagulls
SHANNON MEYER – ISC FAN
Easts Tigers to beat Souths Logan Magpies
Ipswich Jets to beat Tweed Heads Seagulls
Townsville Blackhawks to beat Burleigh Bears
Mackay Cutters to beat North Devils
Sunshine Coast Falcons to beat CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons
Redcliffe Dolphins to beat Northern Pride
PNG Hunters to beat Wynnum Manly Seagulls
Intrust Super Cup Round 23 Matches
Easts Tigers v Souths Logan Magpies at Suzuki Stadium, Saturday – 1.10pm TV GAME
Ipswich Jets v Tweed Heads Seagulls at North Ipswich Reserve, Saturday – 3pm
Burleigh Bears v Townsville Blackhawks at Pizzey Park, Saturday, August 18 – 4.15pm
Mackay Cutters v North Devils at BB Print Stadium Mackay, Saturday – 6pm
CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons at Marley Brown Oval, Gladstone, Saturday – 6pm
Northern Pride v Redcliffe Dolphins at Barlow Park, Saturday – 7pm
PNG Hunters v Wynnum Manly Seagulls at National Football Stadium, Sunday – 3pm
Intrust Super Cup Round 23 Premiership Odds
Redcliffe Dolphins – $3.50
Townsville Blackhawks – $4.00
Burleigh Bears – $4.50
Easts Tigers – $7.00
Northern Pride – $8.00
PNG Hunters – $23.00
Sunshine Coast Falcons – $34.00
Norths Devils – $34.00
Ipswich Jets – $51.00
Intrust Super Cup Round 23 Teams
Easts Tigers v Souths Logan Magpies
Easts Tigers
1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Linc Port 4. Marion Seve 3. Shane Neumann 5. Conor Carey 6. Brayden Torpy 7. Brodie Croft 8. Albert Vete 9. Brandon Smith 10. Brett Greinke 11. Jake Foster (c) 12. Patrick Kaufusi 13. Jack Svendsen 14. Tommy Butterfield 15. Ash Little 16. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 20. Sam Kasiano
Souths Logan Magpies
1. Corey Allan 2. Benaiah Bowie 3. Lenny Magey 4. Cameron Booth 5. Paul Rokolati 6. Guy Hamilton 7. Sam Scarlett 8. Rhys Melville 9. Travis Waddell 10. Sam Lavea 11. Brendon Gibb 12. Daniel Tamou 13. Phil Dennis (c) 14. Rory Ferguson 15. Clayton Mack 16. Cody McIntosh 17. William Samuel
Ipswich Jets v Tweed Heads Seagulls
Ipswich Jets
1. Michael Purcell 2. Marmin Barba 3. Richie Pandia 4. Sam Caslick 5. Wes Conlon 6. Chris Ash 7. Dane Phillips 8. Tyson Lofipo 9. Jayden Connors 10. Nat Neale (c) 17. Billy McConnachie 12. Ben White 13. Ben Shea 11. Rowan Winterfield 14. Cameron Moran 16. Huskie Teutau 19. Mitch Carpenter 15. Isimeeli Hafoka 18. Denzel King
Tweed Heads Seagulls
1. Alex Grant 5. Kiah Cooper 3. Kody Parsons 4. Shaun Carney 2. Ryland Jacobs 6. Eli Levido 7. Rex Johnson 15. Kalani Going 9. Jack Cook 16. Leilani Latu 11. Lamar Manuel-Liolevave (c) 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. Kirk Murphy 8.Tristan Lumley 10. Jaleel Seve Derbas 14. Tevita Folau 18. Sam Meskell
Burleigh Bears v Townsville Blackhawks
Burleigh Bears
1. Kurtis Rowe 2. Troy Leo 3. Sami Sauiluma 4. Joshua Berkers 5. Toby McIntosh 6. Dylan Phythian 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Luke Page (c) 9. Pat Politoni 10. Matt White 11. Matthew Robinson 12. Hayden Schwass 13. Sam Coster 14. Jeff Lynch 15. Kai O’Donnell 17. Jai Whitbread 18. Jess Savage
Townsville Blackhawks
1. Zachary Santo 2. Jonathon Reuben 3. Ty Carucci 4. Levi Dodd 5. Kalifa Faifai-Loa 6. Shaun Hudson 7. Zach Clay 8. Francis Molo 9. Krys Freeman 10. Rod Griffin 11. Jake Marketo (c) 12. Andrew Davey 13. Joe Boyce 14. Daniel Beasley 15. Brenden Santi 16. Temone Power 19. Brent Woolf
Mackay Cutters v North Devils
Mackay Cutters
1. Lachlan Coote 2. Yamba Bowie 3. Nathan Saumalu 4. Jayden Batchelor 5. Kurt Wiltshire 6. Kyle Laybutt 7. Nicho Hynes (c) 10. Jordan Grant 9. Cooper Bambling 8. Nicholas Brown 11. Kellen Jenner 12. Shane Wright 13. Bennett Leslie 14. Jayden Hodges 15. Lona Kaifoto 16. Jye Andersen 17. Jack Brock 18. John O’brien 19. Sheldon Bobbert
Norths Devils
1. Jack Ahearn 2. Herbie Farnworth 3. Zach Strasser 4. Chevi Ellis 5. Paul Ulberg 6. Todd Murphy 7. Troy Dargan 8. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 9. Michael Sio 10. Carne Doyle-Manga 14. Guy Williams 12. Brandon Lee 13. John Palavi (c) 11. Iain Riccardi 15. Sam Tagataese 16. Riley Leota 19. Alex Bishop
CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons
CQ Capras
1. Zeik Foster 18. Maipele Morseau 3. Connor Broadhurst 4. Nathan Bassani 5. Chanel Seigafo 6. Blake Goodman 7. Jack Madden (c) 8. Oliver Percy 9. Billy Gilbert 11. Jerry Key 15. Luke George 12. Dave Taylor 13. Jamie Hill 2. Junior Kirisome 10. Brad Lupi 14. Aaron Teroi 16. Aaron Flanagan
Sunshine Coast Falcons
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Matt Soper-Lawler 3. Sandor Earl 4. Justin Olam 5. Iliesa Ratuva 6. Rhys Jacks 7. Ryley Jacks 18. Lachlan Timm 9. Sam Burns 10. Jye Ballinger 11. Dane Hogan (c) 12. Christopher Lewis 13. Jacob Hind 14. Lachlan Roe 15. Louis Geraghty 16. Stephen Buckley 17. Jordan Brown 19. Nick Timm
Northern Pride v Redcliffe Dolphins
Northern Pride
1. Jack Murphy 2. Murray Taulagi 3. Brett Anderson 4. Javid Bowen 5. Enari Tuala 6. Jordan Biondi-Odo 7. Jack Campagnolo 8. Sheldon Powe-Hobbs 9. Ryan Ghietti (c) 10. Darryn Schonig 11. Graham Clark 12. Tom Hancock 13. David Murphy 14. Connor Jones 15. Emry Pere 16. Troy Kapea 17. William Bugden 18. Matthew Musumeci 19. Nathan Wales 20. Shawn Bowen
Redcliffe Dolphins
1. Trai Fuller 2. Josh Beehag 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Tom Opacic 5. Jeremy Hawkins 6. Bryce Donovan 7. Cameron Cullen (c) 8. Nick Slyney 17. Hugh Pratt 10. Sam Anderson 11. Toby Rudolf 14. Myles Taueli 13. Jamil Hopoate 9. Jake Turpin 12. Aaron Whitchurch 15. James Taylor 16. Tom Geraghty
PNG Hunters v Wynnum Manly Seagulls
PNG Hunters
1. Edene Gebbie 2. Junior Rau 3. Thompson Teteh 4. Adex Wera 5. Brendon Gotuno 6. Ase Boas (c) 7. Watson Boas 8. Enock Maki 9. Wartovo Puara 10. Moses Meninga 11. Nixon Putt 12. Willie Minoga 13. Stanton Albert 14. Charlie Simon 15. Ila Alu 16. Rahdly Brawa 17. Dilbert Issac 18. Mekenzie Yei 19. Silas Gahuna 20. Butler Morris
Wynnum Manly Seagulls
1. Daniel Ogden 2. Jack Goodsell 3. Jeriah Goodrich 4. Delouise Hoeter 5. Edward Burns 6. Shaun Nona 7. Jayden Berrell 8. Patrick Carrigan 9. Mitch Cronin (c) 10. Keenan Palasia 11. Til Vea 12. Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard 13. Max Elliott 14. Alex Barr 15. Stedman Lefau 16. Salesi Funaki 17. Lachlan Lee
