The Intrust Super Cup third round doubled as XXXX Rivalry Round, with great clashes between Intrust Super Cup rivals all along the Queensland coastline over the weekend.
Burleigh maintained their 100% record and handed Tweed Heads a third straight loss, Ipswich had superior goal kicking to thank for their win over the Tigers in a game where both sides scored five tries.
The Capras let go of a rare chance to beat their nearest rival Mackay after leading 16-4 in the second half, but the Pride did get a rare win over Townsville to wrap up the Saturday games.
Sunday results saw Norths remain unbeaten after defeating the Magpies, Redcliffe came from behind to win the Bayside Herald derby against Wynnum, and the Hunters poor record on the Sunshine Coast continued.
The Cutters and the Falcons were the only sides to win at home, as the XXXX Rivalry Round went to the away sides.
With so much action to get through, it has all been condensed it all into the Best of Intrust Super Cup Round 3 Review to give you the quickest way to follow the best of what happened over the weekend.
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELLS FOR BEARS
A poor pun based on one of the Bears tries that involved both the Wells boys, but it was a good day out for Burleigh who continued their 100% start to the 2018 Intrust Super Cup season with a 32-12 win over their Gold Coast rivals Tweed Heads Seagulls. It was a feisty affair in patches too, as you would expect from XXXX Rivalry round with a few scuffles throughout, in wet conditions at Piggabeen.
The scoreline makes it look like a pretty one sided affair, but in truth the Seagulls were competitive for large parts of the game, and were only 22-12 behind in the latter stages when they lost a player to the sin bin in the 70th minute, and during that period of on field advantage Burleigh scored two more tries to flatter them slightly.
The Bears actually scored in patches of two quick tries, the first of which came in the 10th and 15th minute, and it looked like it could be a long afternoon for the winless Tweed. However they battled on and were matching the Bears if not getting much luck, but another quick burst of two tries just before half time stretched the gap to 22-0. There was still hope for Tweed though as the Bears score 66% of their points in the first half.
The second half ended up 10-10 and the result decided on that sin bin period from the 70th minute. Luke Page was great as ever, as was Kurtis Rowe, and Jamal Fogarty.
PRIDE UPSET TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
The Northern Pride did what very few teams get to do on Saturday evening and took two competition points from the Blackhawks, and in the process beat their Townsville rivals for the first time.
The convincing 26-6 saw the Pride start the scoring in the 16th minute and were never behind after that scoring four tries to on. They kept the attacking juggernaut that is the Blackhawks to just the one try in the 31st minute to former Knight Jaelen Feeney, a feat very few sides have been able to do against Townsville. Two more tries and a penalty in the second half sealed the impressive win, that sees them with a 2/3 record and wins over the competition favourites and last year’s premiers PNG Hunters last week.
The Blackhawks opened up the season with a thumping 56-12 over Mackay, but now have been beaten in consecutive rounds after losing to Ipswich last weekend.
GOAL KICKING THE DIFFERENCE AS TIGERS COMEBACK FALLS JUST SHORT
An entertaining five tries a piece game at Suzuki Stadium came down goal kicking, and unlike last weekend’s clash against the Cutters at the same ground, Easts were on the losing end this time. Ipswich Jets’ Wes Conlon converting all 5 tries and a slotting a penalty goal.
Ipswich led 30-10 halfway through the second half after their usual side to side to side attack followed by some sudden regulation attacks up the middle, the scoring under or near the posts helping the conversions. Not long after the Jets reached 30 points, Easts scored two quick tries, to reduce the gap to 10 points. A thrilling finish ensued as the Tigers got within six points and had plenty of ball and territory to score again, but somehow Ipswich repelled them.
A worry to see the Ipswich player carried off on a stretcher after full time.
The full game is well worth a look and can be seen on TigersTV.
NORTHS REMAIN UNBEATEN IN 2018
Souths Logan Magpies and Norths Devils went into Sunday afternoon’s clash both on two wins, so only one team could finish the weekend with 3 wins, and against the betting market it was Norths who stayed on a perfect record.
In a game where the lead changed several times, the winning passage was when Norths came from behind for the second time of the day with two quick tries in the 67th and 70th minute to take a 26-24 lead they weren’t to surrender.
Former Raiders Under 20’s player Chevi Ellis scored twice early for the Devils, the young 191cm 111kg unit will be one to keep an eye on if Norths keep winning and he keeps scoring.
Both teams will be hoping to avoid some trends from 2017 from here, as Norths started with 4/5 wins last season and only registered another 5 wins after Round 5. The Magpies weak link in 2017 was their home form, this year it is 50% so far.
ELSEWHERE
The Capras had every chance for a rare win over the Mackay Cutters, leading 16-4 just after half time, but they were unable to hold off the Cutters and a 76th minute penalty goal was the final nail losing 18-16.
Redcliffe came from 18-8 down just after half time to score five unanswered tries and take the victory over their bayside rivals Wynnum, Broncos prospect Kotoni Staggs the star with two tries foe the Dolphins.
The Sunshine Coast continued their dominance over the PNG Hunters on the Sunshine Coast with a 24-10 win, which sees their run of home wins extend to four straight seasons now. The Falcons led 24-0 before the Hunters finally got on the board in the 57th minute, and despite scoring again four minutes later, a comeback was not forthcoming and the Hunters now have a 1-2 record in the title defence year.
