Competition leaders Burleigh Bears retain the lead of the competition after Intrust Super Cup Round 8, and their 2018 pacesetting counterparts Norths Devils climbed back up to outright 2nd, after a mixed weekend for sides that were in the Top 6 before the weekend started.
Saturday was a mixed day for favourites and home sides, with the Tweed Head Heads Seagulls, Wynnum Seagulls, and Norths Devils all taking wins on the road. Ipswich and the Northern Pride were the only successful sides at home on the Saturday.
Sunday saw two of the competition’s big heavy hitters register two good wins. Burleigh beat the Hunters, and Townsville wrapped up the weekend with a very good win over the Souths Logan Magpies.
Townsville head a group of 4 teams on 10 points that round out the Top 6. The Northern Pride sit all alone on 8 points in 7th, and 8th and lower are covered by just two points.
Onwards then to the Best of the Weekend with the Intrust Super Round 8 review.’
KANE ELGEY’S RETURN CONTINUES WINNING RUN FOR TWEED
Tweed Heads have climbed out of the bottom two for the first time in years, with a third straight win for the 2018 season, this time over the Mackay Cutters in Mackay for the Saturday afternoon TV game.
The Seagulls season has building nicely of late. They won their first game against Wynnum in the Flockbuster, beat Easts last week, but the complete dismantling of their previous neighbour on the ladder was most impressive, and shows that their is more to come from the lower profile of the Gold Coast teams in 2018.
All eyes were on Kane Elgey coming into the game as he returned to the side where he built his reputation enough to play out a very good career for the Titans in the NRL, and he did the job and played quite well, but was slightly overshadowed by a player who’s building quite a nice reputation for himself – AJ Brimson. The fullback has been earmarked as a player to watch several times in Tweed Heads TV games this year, and he lived up to that on Saturday in Mackay. He scored the first try for the Tweed in each half, sparked the second try for the Tweed, and had a hand in the third, and looked lively in general throughout.
Kane Elgey set up a few tries himself, AJ Brimson’s second after a great run through the Cutters defence, and scored one himself that he also set up with a beautiful pass. Whether it is enough to earn a quick passage back to the Titans remains to be seen. But the effort and execution was there.
In the end Tweed Heads led 30-6 at half time, and were still up 46-6 with just over 10 minutes to play, before a run of tries to either side blew out the score to 52-24. By the end of the match, Brayden McGrady had wrapped up three tries for himself among the 9 that the Seagulls put on the board. Mackay don’t even get a break next week, as they are just one of eight teams to be playing thanks to byes, and playing Norths isn’t a gimme. Given the Seagulls hot form, they probably wish they had the bye this coming work.
TRIPLE SECI HELPS JETS TO REFRESHING TOP 6 RETURN
Ipswich climb back into the Top 6 with a third win in four games, one that was a surprise result against a Redcliffe side that were on a five game winning streak heading into the Round 8 clash at North Ipswich Reserve.
The hero on the day was centre Pio Seci, who only made his debut for the Jets this season, scored three of the Jets four for the day to help them seal a first win over Redcliffe in four seasons. His first opened the scoring in a tight first half which saw just two tries and a 4-4 deadlocked half time score. His next tries came in the 54th and 58th minutes as Ipswich laid on three tries in seven minutes to wrestle the lead back from Redcliffe and extend out to 22-10 after Redcliffe scored just a few minutes after half time.
The Dolphins scored in the 64th minute to reduce the score to 22-14, but could only muster a 77th minute penalty goal thereafter and went down for the first time since Round 2. They remain in the Top 6 in 4th, and were joined by the Jets on 10 points who climb to sixth as a result of the win.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER FOR TOP 2 DEVILS
The memory goes back to a Norths Devils colt side featuring one Greg Inglis that destroyed their opposition in the Colts Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium in the 2000’s, and that side also featured Sam Tagataese. He may well get a chance to win a Grand Final again for the Devils at Suncorp Stadium in 2018, a first since 1998, and it was the off season recruit that scored the final try late for the Devils at Suzuki Stadium against the Tigers on Saturday.
Easts Tigers had lost two of their last three heading into the weekend, started out brightly enough leading 12-0 after 15 minutes, one of those tries going to returning Melbourne Storm centre Cheyse Blair. But the Devils stayed in touch with tries in the 20th and 33rd minutes to go to the half time break locked at 12-12.
There were just two tries in the second half, one a piece to the Tigers (57th minute) and Devils (77th minute), and in the end it came down to the conversions of those tries which Norths Todd Murphy was able to do, whilst Easts missed theirs. It was a third loss at home for the Tigers, who drop to 8th, top of the teams on 6 points. Norths have lost just once away this season, and sit right on Burl;eigh’s tail in second outright.
BEARS REMAIN ON TOP AND HUNTERS INTO BOTTOM TWO
Burleigh and PNG met in their Anzac Weekend clash, and this year the big match went to the home side who kept themselves at the top of the Intrust Super Cup ladder as a result.
Both sides had key absentees heading into the game, most notably in the halves where star playmakers Jamal Fogarty continues to be unavailable, and the Hunters captain Ase Boas was out. The Bears are also missing other vital cogs, but it didn’t seem to bother them early in the match as they dominated to lead 12-0 through three unconverted tries after 20 minutes.
The Hunters to their credit got back into the match, and scored twice before half time to reduce the gap to 12-10 at the break, and then even hit the front with a try and penalty goal after the break to lead 18-12. Unfortunately Burleigh got into a point scoring spree in the last 20 minutes, scoring four unanswered tries, including a double to Troy Leo as part of a three try, six minute burst to end the game for the Bears.
Burleigh are two points clear of Norths in 2nd, and a further 2 in front of a very competitive pack of Townsville, Redcliffe, Souths Logan and Redcliffe. Things are certainly looking good for the 2016 Premiers in 2018. For the Hunters it wasn’t the away day drought breaker many would have been hoping for, but to lead the competition leaders away from home, without their star player is showing good signs for a team in transition.
ELSEWHERE IN INTRUST SUPER CUP ROUND 8
Northern Pride broke a three game losing streak against the Sunshine Coast Falcons on Saturday night in Cairns, as they defeated the Falcons 28-24. The Pride took the lead just after half time and never looked back after a first half in which the two sides swapped the lead and the visitors actually led 12-10. The lead for the Pride in the second half was never bigger than right points as the scoring went in Noah 2 by 2 formation – Pride score two tries, Falcons score a converted try and penalty, then the Pride score a converted try and penalty. The 79th minute try to Justin Olam for the Sunshine Coast only got them the final margin of four points.
Central Capras blew another lead on Saturday night against the Wynnum Seagulls as they managed to let a three try, 14-0 half time lead evaporate to go down 24-14. It was a tale of two halves in Rockhampton as Central scored all of their 14 points in the first 40 minutes, and Wynnum replied with 24 unanswered points after the break. That included a double for former ISC Player of the Year Patrick Templeman. Both teams are now on 6 points and well outside the Top 6. The Capras will regret their inability to hold onto winning positions, as they could be in the Top 6.
The Blackhawks are certainly back in contention for the 2018 Intrust Super Cup title, as they dismantled a second Top 6 opponent at home in two weeks, this time it was a big 38-14 win over the Souths Logan Magpies. Townsville led 22-0 at the break scoring four tries, and extended that further still with another try in the 44th minute to lead 26-0. Eventually the Magpies got on the board in the 48th minute, and by the 64th minute they scored another two tries and the gap was down to 12 points. It was as close as they got because Townsville found another two converted tries, and grabbed two competition points and leapfrogged Souths Logan into 3rd on the ladder.
INTRUST SUPER CUP ROUND 8 RESULTS
Mackay Cutters 24 TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 52
IPSWICH JETS 22 Redcliffe Dolpins
Easts Tigers 16 NORTHS DEVILS 18
NORTHERN PRIDE 28 Sunshine Coast Falcons 24
Central Capras 14 WYNNUM SEAGULLS 24
BURLEIGH BEARS 34 PNG Hunters 18
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 38 Souths Logan Magpies 14
INTRUST SUPER CUP ROUND 8 LADDER
| Team | P | W | L | F | A | +/- | Pts |
| Burleigh Bears | 8 | 7 | 1 | 225 | 148 | 77 | 14 |
| Norths Devils | 8 | 6 | 2 | 192 | 155 | 37 | 12 |
| Townsville Blackhawks | 8 | 5 | 3 | 220 | 136 | 84 | 10 |
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 8 | 5 | 3 | 195 | 129 | 66 | 10 |
| Souths Logan Magpies | 8 | 5 | 3 | 206 | 151 | 55 | 10 |
| Ipswich Jets | 8 | 5 | 3 | 155 | 166 | -11 | 10 |
| Northern Pride | 8 | 4 | 4 | 138 | 129 | 9 | 8 |
| Easts Tigers | 8 | 3 | 5 | 162 | 157 | 5 | 6 |
| Sunshine Coast Falcons | 8 | 3 | 5 | 167 | 173 | -6 | 6 |
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 8 | 3 | 5 | 165 | 197 | -32 | 6 |
| Tweed Heads Seagulls | 8 | 3 | 5 | 158 | 212 | -54 | 6 |
| Central Queensland Capras | 8 | 3 | 5 | 128 | 182 | -54 | 6 |
| PNG Hunters | 8 | 2 | 6 | 136 | 188 | -52 | 4 |
| Mackay Cutters | 8 | 2 | 6 | 136 | 260 | -124 | 4 |
