Anyone who likes their rugby league with plenty of points will have enjoyed Intrust Super Cup Round 13 with an average of 53 points scored across the seven games.
Table topping Burleigh had a comfortable win at Ipswich, and the Blackhawks and Wynnum also got decent results on the road on Saturday.
Redcliffe stopped Tweed Heads with a convincing win at Dolphin Oval, and the Northern Pride disposed of the high flying Magpies in Cairns. Easts continued their new found winning ways by dominating the PNG Hunters.
The only game on Sunday ended with the Sunshine Coast Falcons stealing a win with a late field goal over Norths.
Plenty of points scored, and a few of the best points of the weekend await in the Best of Intrust Super Cup Round 13 Review.
BIG TEAMS SEND A MESSAGE
Townsville, Burleigh and Easts were all fancied at the beginning of the season for ISC honours, and all three made a decent impression on the competition on Saturday with good wins.
Burleigh continued Ipswich’s miserable record against them with a 42-20 win, which Ipswich made look a little more respectable in the second half after trailing 28-0 at the break. The first half saw 5 Burleigh tries, winger Troy Leo secured a hat trick by the 33rd minute, and two tries in two minutes just before half time had the Jets in big trouble. To their credit they fought back in the second half but only got as close as a 16 point margin.
Townsville’s great winning run was ended in Port Morseby last weekend, so their 32-12 win over the Capras was a great response and Townsville sit equal second with Redcliffe and Souths Logan albeit four points behind Burleigh. The Capras did very well at Dolphin Oval last weekend, so they weren’t to be taken lightly by the Blackhawks, and despite scoring two tries in the first 20 minutes, the Capras hit back in the 26th minute and there was only two points in it.ย Townsville scored just before half time and kicked away in the second half to eventually win 32-12, but the Capras made them work for it. You only have to look through the backline of former NRL talents of Feeney, Marketo, and Fai Fai Loa to see the threat they will pose in the second half of the season.
Easts Tigers had a squad pre season that looked good enough for Top 6, and that was bolstered further by Brodie Croft’s demotion back to the Tigers from the Storm. But for various reasons the Tigers struggled for wins in the past month or so, a losing run they broke at Wynnum last weekend with a big win. Equally impressive is the way they dominated the PNG Hunters this weekend, a side they have a great record against at Suzuki Stadium. The first point came via a Hunters penalty, but that was to be their only joy of the afternoon and not long later the Tigers scored their first try and never looked back. They led 16-2 at the break, and by the 70th minute had scored three of the next four tries to be 30-6 in front. The Hunter secured some last-minute consolation, but not enough joy to end a three game winning streak and momentum to get back into Top 6. The reigning premiers curse continues.
TWEED HEADS GREAT RUN ENDED AT DOLPHIN OVAL
Tweed Heads headed into Saturday night’s game at Dolphin Oval as the competition’s form side – 6 wins in a row – but they received a lesson from Redcliffe after going down 42-16. The Dolphins featured an almost all Broncos three-quarter line, whilst the Seagulls were without the NRL experience of Hurrell and Latu, but still had half Kane Elgey.
Redcliffe led 6-0 after just 3 minutes, and after a quick burst of three tries midway through the first half led 24-0. Tweed Heads scored either side of the half time break to reduce the lead to just 12 points, but not long after Tony Tumusa scored his second try and the Dolphins were back on their way to victory. Another two tries for the home side followed before Tweed Heads finshsed the scoring on 42-16.
Tweed Heads can get their winning form back next weekend in a winnable game against the Capras, and Redcliffe have their northside rivalry against Norths to worry about. The winsaw Redcliffe jump back to second, ahead of Townsville and Souths Logan of for and against.
SUNDAY GAME’S ONLY GAME A THRILLER ON THE SUNSHINE COAST
The Sunshine Coast Falcons have lost a few games at home in 2018 with a late score, so they got one back on Sunday asย Ryan Papenhuyzen nailed a field goal in the 79th minute to break the dead lock with the Norths Devils.
The Falcons led 8-4 at half time, and extended thatย just after the break to hold a handy 14-4 lead. But the Norths Devils went on a try scoring spree and 15 minutes later were leading themselves 22-14, and looked like continuing their great run against the Falcons. But the Sunshine Coast hit back twice with tries in the 67th and 71st minutes, and since none of them were converted the score was tied at 22-22. The deadlock was eventually broken in the 79th minute by the Falcons field goal.
The match saw a double for PNG International Justin Olam, timely given the announcement midweek that Young Tonumaipea is leaving rugby league for 2 years for his mission work, leaving Olam as the next cab if the Storm need an outside back. An extended Storm stay would certainly be a great reward for some excellent seasons with the Falcons, and provide hope for the PNG players looking for NRL that it can happen.
PERFECT TIME FOR A MAGIC WEEKEND?
Given there were just four games in the NRL this weekend, and none of them in Queensland, what a great weekend to play out a Magic Weekend for the Intrust Super Cup. Sure the State of Origin takes most of the focus of rugby league, but not everyone drops everything for the interstate clash, as the NRL and media would like to believe.
Having seen the UK version being played out for the Super League and Championship leagues over the past few weekends, and attended one in Edinburgh, I know it would have some following, and it is something that surely the QRL should consider, especially given the gap in the Queensland NRL schedule, and the sensational Queensland winter weather.
If it were well marketed, and decently priced, you could get a very decent crowd at Suncorp Stadium, or one of the big provincial towns for a festival of Intrust Super Cup over the Saturday and Sunday. And with fewer games to cover, Fox Sports would probably enjoy some extra content if the right deal could be made.
Just need some forward thinking and a little bravery to make it happen.
ELSEWHERE
Wynnum showed that they are capable of winning Intrust Super Cup games, just not at home in 2018, as they defeated the Cutters in Mackay, a game that could have resulted in either side seeing themselves at the bottom of the ladder. For a while it looked like the Seagulls may be on the end of loss as the Cutters scored the first two tries of the match, and by the 34th minute were 16-6 to the good, and even when the Seagulls replied just before half time, the Cutters did so just after half time. The score 20-12 to Mackay. But from there it was all Wynnum as they laid on four tries from the 54th minute to run out 34-20 winners and leave Mackay last on the Intrust Super Cup ladder.
Another team to come from behind with a big rush in the second half was the Northern Pride as they overcame Souths Logan in a point fest in Cairns. In all there were 72 points scored, all scored in runs of tries to each side. The first went to the visiting Magpies as they scored three straight tries by the 12th minute to lead 16-0. It was then the Pride’s turn for a run of four pointers as they scored twice in three minutes to bridge the gap to 16-12.. The Magpies crossed twice more leading into half time and led 26-12 at the break. The second half was all Pride as they scored five tries in a row to jump out to a 42-26 lead, which Souths Logan reduced with a consolation try. Worth noting that Jake Clifford kicked 7 from 7, and with the competition getting tighter and more games to be won or lost by small margins, a handy goal kicker is worth plenty. Certainly there are no signs that being Carney-less is going to stop them in 2018.
INTRUST SUPER CUP ROUNDย 13 RESULTS
Central Capras 12 TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 36
Ipswich Jets 20 BURLEIGH BEARS 42
EASTS TIGERS 30 PNG Hunters 12
Mackay Cutter 20 WYNNUM SEAGULLS 34
NORTHERN PRIDE 42 Souths Logan Magpies 30
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 42 Tweed Heads Seagulls 14
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 23 Norths Devils 22
https://nothingbutleague.com/2017/06/03/intrust-super-cup-round-13-preview/
