Sunshine Coast game delayed as Intrust Super Cup continues

The Intrust Super Cup reaches Round 16 under the sadness of the death of James Ackerman following last weekend’s game between the Sunshine Coast and Norths. It is a very sad situation, and adding the passing of Grant Giess from the Tigers it has been a truly awful June for the competition. So unfortunate that the extra exposure of the competition had to come at such an expense.

There are only 6 games going ahead this weekend as the Sunshine Coast have understandably withdrawn from the scheduled game in Townsville. This was confirmed amongst other details on the QRL website – http://www.qrl.com.au/news/2015/06/24/update_round_16_.html

We give best wishes to everyone involved with the Ackerman family, Sunshine Coast Falcons, and any family, friends, team mates. Anyone who feels they would like to contribute to a Trust set up in James Ackerman’s name please find out more again from the QRL website – http://www.qrl.com.au/news/2015/06/25/ackerman_family_help.html

Others can support the Queensland Rugby League community in general by heading out to a game this weekend, and cheering on some of the local heroes. The support will certainly be welcomed.

On the field this weekend, there are five clashes between teams that are very close together on the ladder, and then the clash between the side with the competition’s longest winning run and the team with the longest losing run.

Northern Pride v Ipswich Jets at Barlow Park on Saturday – 5.30pm

Round 16 of the Intrust Super Cup kicks off in Cairns on Saturday evening with a clash of two of last year’s heavyweights, with at least one of these teams likely to feature in finals football again.

The reverse fixture in Round 5 was a turnaround of sorts for the reigning premiers as the close loss against the Jets was the last of their consecutive losses to start the year and have won 7 of their next 10 games to sit just outside the top six.

The Jets currently sit in second and like the other side on 24 points – the PNG Hunters – they are full of attack having racked up some big scores against some of the lower placed sides in recent weeks. But they will be tested against a Northern Pride side that is very hard to score against, and will be very keen to keep winning and stay alive in the chase for another title.

Ipswich have only lost once away this year, that loss in PNG. The Pride will be hoping to make them uncomfortable again in the tropical far north.

Great to see Marmin Barba named to play after collapsing and being taken to hospital last weekend. The Pride will have their hands full with Barba and all the Ipswich backline.

Prediction: Pride by 4
This Year: Ipswich 26 Pride 22
Last Year: Pride 30 Ipswich 16
Odds: Pride $2.65 Ipswich $1.47

Teams:

Northern Pride: 1. Hezron Murgha 2. Linc Port 3. Brett Anderson (c) 4. Justin Castellaro 5. Luke George 6. Ryan Ghietti 7. Sam Obst 8. Jack Svendsen 9. Jason Roos (c) 10. Scott Bolton 11. Vaipuna Tia Kilifi 12. Graham Clark 13. Ben Spina 14. Keelan White 15. Tom Hancock 16. Sheldon Powe Hobbs 17. Alex Starmer 18. Jordon Biondi-Odo 19. David Murphy

Coach: Joe O’Callaghan

Ipswich Jets: 1. Carlin Anderson 2. Marmin Barba 3. Chris Walker 4. Nemani Valekapa 5. Brandon McGrady 6. Josh Cleeland 7. Dane Phillips 8. Josh Seage 9. Landon Hayes 10. Rod Griffin 11. Sam Martin 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Keiron Lander (c) 14. Fakahoko Teutau 15. Kurtis Lingwoodock 16. Billy McConnachie 17. Gerico Cecil

Coach: Ben Walker and Shane Walker

Mackay Cutters v Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Stadium Mackay on Saturday – 6pm

Another heavy weight clash in northern Queensland on Saturday evening sees fourth take on sixth as the Cutters and the Wynnum Seagulls meet at Stadium Mackay.

Wynnum Manly will still be smarting after a last minute Burleigh field goal denied them a home win that looked all theirs. Mackay lost to the Tigers on their day of celebrating the life of Grant Giess. Both sides therefore have one thing in common, to win and avoid consecutive losses at this important time of the season.

A big win for the home side could see them overtake their opponents on Saturday, but there is too much quality on the field for that to happen. A mildly surprising home win doesn’t seem out of the question given their previous form against the Seagulls.

Prediction: Mackay by 2
This Year: Wynnum 10 Mackay 28
Last Year: Mackay 12 Wynnum 4
Odds: Mackay $2.05 Wynnum $1.74

Teams:

Mackay Cutters: 1. Sam Clune 2. Jordan Pereira 3. Ben Jones 4. Justin Tavae 5. Buchanan Rawhiti 6. Cameron Cullen 7. Liam Taylor 8. Brad Lupi 9. Josh Chudleigh 20. Pulou Vaituutuu 11. Brenden Treston 12. Tyson Martin 13. Chris Gesch (c) 15. Aleki Falepaini 10. Ryan Kinlyside 17. Coen Hess 18. Joss Boyton 16. Gavin Bennion 19. Mitch Day

Coach: Kim Williams

Wynnum Manly Seagulls: 1. Daniel Ogden 2. Peter Gubb 3. Matthew Grieve 4. Mitchell Buckett 5. Greg Eden 6. Patrick Templeman 7. Matthew Seamark 8. Ben Shea 9. Alehana Mara 10. Tim Natusch (c) 11. Aaron Rockley 12. Jon Grieve 13. Mitchell Frei 14. John Te Reo 15. David Stagg 16. Tanu Wulf 17. Stephen Coombe 18. Brad Mana

Coach: Jon Buchanan

Souths Logan Magpies v Tweed Heads Seagulls at Davies Park on Sunday – 1.40pm
TV GAME on Channel 9

The TV game on Sunday afternoon sees an interesting match-up of some of the lower ranked teams of the Intrust Super Cup.

Souths Logan may be third last and were beaten 24-0 by the Seagulls earlier in the year, but the Magpies’ performances of late have been much better than they appear on paper, and they come off the bye fresh for action. Their most recent game before that was a brave performance against Wynnum Manly on Stradbroke Island.

Their turnaround has coincided with the arrival of Ashley Taylor from the Broncos, but his name is not on the team list below, so that extra spark they have received will be hard to replace.

Tweed Heads had the unenviable task of stopping the PNG Hunters winning streak last Sunday, a feat they might have gone close to achieving if they had kicked a few more conversions. The game saw five tries a piece.

The teams are three places and three points apart, and even without Ashley Taylor the Magpies look tremendous value to cause an upset and move within one point of their opponents.

Prediction: Souths Logan by 4
This Year: Tweed Heads 24 Souths Logan 0
Last Year: Souths Logan 32 Tweed Heads 14
Odds: Souths Logan $3.05 Tweed Heads $1.37

Teams:

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

Coach: Josh Hannay

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

Coach: Aaron Zimmerle

Redcliffe Dolphins v Norths Devils at Dolphin Oval on Sunday – 2pm

The northern Brisbane rivalry plays out for the second time in 2015 on the bayside in a meeting between the Dolphins and the Devils.

Norths will probably be glad to be playing away from Bishop Park after their game last weekend was abandoned due to the tragic injury suffered by James Ackerman. Another reason to be glad to be playing at Dolphin Oval is the fact that Redcliffe have only won one game there since May 2014, giving a huge hope to any visiting team.

However, despite their poor run of form at home, the Dolphins seem to enjoy playing their rivals from this weekend as wins in this fixtures last year, the reverse fixture from earlier in the year, and a pre-season trial game this year show the Devils are up against it when playing Redcliffe.

Redcliffe will also be keen to put on a show for their former teammate James Ackerman, and that will more than likely be enough inspiration to post a win. There’s also the inspiration to win as many games as they can to thank outgoing head coach and club legend Troy Lindsay who has chosen not to take up an option for 2016. http://www.qrl.com.au/news/2015/06/24/dolphins_search_for_.html

Prediction: Redcliffe by 26d
This Year: Norths 20 Redcliffe 44
Last Year: Redcliffe 36 Norths 20
Odds: Redcliffe TBA Norths TBA

Teams:

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

Coach: Troy Lindsay

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

Coach: Mark Gliddon

Easts Tigers v Burleigh Bears at Tapout Energy Stadium on Sunday – 2pm

After the emotion of last weekend’s day of celebration of the life of Grant Giess, the Tigers have to back that up this weekend against the Bears side on a high after their dramatic last gasp win over Wynnum Manly.

Easts have not lost since their only home loss of the year against Redcliffe in Round 10, and have put on some big scores at home this year and lately. The Tigers also got home against Burleigh earlier in the season on the Gold Coast, so are looking for the double over the Bears.

The tenacity to hang in there and eventually overcome the Seagulls side last week will be very handy against the Tigers, but will more than likely not be enough as you get the feeling that Easts may be turning their tragedy into a run to the finals and beyond.

Prediction: Easts by 2
This Year: Burleigh 20 Easts 22
Last year: 48 Burleigh 20
Odds: $1.34 Burleigh $3.20

Teams:

Easts Tigers: 1. Donald Malone 2. Maeli Seve 3. Eddie Tautali 4. Michael Kai 5. Matt Duffie 6. Shaun Nona 19. Brentt Warr 8. Christian Welch 9. Tommy Butterfield 10. Liam McDonald 11. Dane Hogan 12. Jake Foster 13. Troy Giess 14. Francis Tualau 15. Matthew Zgrajewski 16. Dean Britt 17. Billy Walters 18. Foisa Peni

Coach: Craig Ingebrigtsen

Burleigh Bears: 1. Khan Ahwang 2. Jaiden Hawkes 3. Jamie Dowling 4. Dimitri Pelo 5. Connor Broadhurst 6. Conner Toia 7. Ryley Jacks 8. Mitch Sharp 9. Tom Rowles 10. Josh Ailaomai 11. Tyron Haynes 12. Louie Fanene 13. Darren Griffiths (c) 14. Marino Allen 15. Ayden Lee 16. Shaun Maloney 17. Pele Peletelese

Coach: Jim Lenihan

PNG Hunters v CQ Capras at Kalabond Oval, Kokopo on Sunday – 2.30pm

In the only lop sided clash on paper in this week’s Intrust Super Cup, the Central Capras continue their awful run of fixtures against the top three sides in Papua New Guinea this Sunday.

The two teams are going in vastly different directions with Central winless since Round 1, and the PNG Hunters currently on a run of eight straight wins which has seen them draw within two points of the leaders.

The Hunters have shaken off what looked like second season syndrome earlier in the season, and hopefully with the upturn in form and the huge crowd from their game in Port Moresby the reported money woes have calmed down for the time being.

Everything points towards a PNG Hunters win, and it is hard not to tip them, and with players like Big Willie Minoga amongst their crew, it is hard to argue.

Prediction: PNG by 32
Last Year: PNG 46 Central 14
Odds: PNG $1.06 Central $9.00

Teams:

PNG Hunters: 1. Stargroth Amean 2. David Lapua 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. Brandy Peter 12. Timothy Lomai 13. Adam Korave 14. Nickson Borana 15. Atte Bina 16. Willie Minoga 17. Enock Maki 18. Lawrence Tu’u 19. Oti Bland Tony 20. Roger Laka

Coach: Michael Marum

CQ Capras: 1. Tarrant Mariner 2. Jake Ainsworth 3. Shaun Collins 4. Ha’Ofanga Rabakewa 5. Lloyd Stiegler 6. Matt Minto 7. Josh Mitchell 8. Gerard Tema 9. Mark Johnstone 10. Gavin Hiscox 11. Tyson White 12. Guy Williams (c) 13. Ian Webster 14. Aaron Watson 15. Corbyn Kilday 16. Dean McAdam 17. Dylan Webber 18. Josh Johnston

Coach: Lionel Harbin