A big weekend of rugby league awaits in the Intrust Super Cup this weekend, and a great time for our Intrust Super Cup Round 12 Predictions and Preview.
Better than our predictions, are tips from the CEO of main sponsor Intrust Super Brendan O’Farrell each week. And he is on fire with another perfect round last weekend.
A top of the table clash is the headline act of Intrust Super Cup Round 12, as the unbeaten Sunshine Coast Falcons welcome the equally in form Burleigh Bears. That’s on Sunday on the Sunshine Coast but is not the TV Game.
The TV Game is Central Capras v Norths Devils. Hard to guess what the best game is going to be before the season starts. Good that they share the games around, except for PNG Hunters who haven’t had a TV game in a season and a half now. If they couldn’t get one as a reigning premier last season, no surprise there’s nothing thus far this season.
The weekend kicks off on Friday night for a change in Mackay, as Ipswich fly in. Saturday’s highlights are Wynnum v Townsville and at Redcliffe the two preious premiers meet, both of whom are struggling in 2019.
If you like a brief preview of the entire round, your Round 12 Intrust Super Cup Predictions and Preview awaits.
Round 12 INTRUST SUPER CUP TIPPING – ARE YOU SMARTER THAN SUPER BOF?
Fancy yourself an Intrust Super Cup tipping guru. Reckon you’re better than the CEO of Intrust Super yourself? Find out his Round 11 Intrust Super Cup tips below, and submit your via our Twitter or Facebook page.
BRENDAN O’FARRELL (CEO of Intrust Super)
MACKAY CUTTERS to beat Ipswich Jets
EASTS TIGERS to beat Northern Pride
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS to beat Wynnum Seagulls
PNG HUNTERS to beat Redcliffe Dolphins
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Central Capras
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS to beat Souths Logan Magpies
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS to beat Burleigh Bears
SEASON PROGRESS 54/77
Last week 7/7 PERFECT
THE GURGLER’s TIPS (Us)
IPSWICH JETS to beat Mackay Cutters
EASTS TIGERS to beat Northern Pride
WYNNUM SEAGULSL to beat Townsvilel Blackhawks
DRAW – Redcliffe Dolphins v PNG Hunters
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Central Capras
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS to beat Souths Logan Magpies
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS to beat Burleigh Bears
SEASON PROGRESS 48/77
Last week 4/7
Follow our weekly Twitter post to add your selections. Be better than BOF.
Round 12 INTRUST SUPER CUP – MINI PREVIEW
Here’s a quick rundown on all things Round 11 Intrust Super Cup and our thoughts for all of the games this weekend.
The full Team Lists for Round 11 can be found via our friends at Nothing But League.
MACKAY CUTTERS v IPSWICH JETS
Friday 7:30pm
A Friday night rumble in Mackay awaits as the sides 8th and 9th on the ladder face off, and if the Cutters do get the win they’ll replace the Jets in 8th on points difference.
That points difference was mainly due to the Jets 62-8 loss last weekend at North Ipswich Reserve, which probably says more about the dominance of the Falcons than anything too bad at Ipswich. Mackay meanwhile got past Redcliffe with a late try to win 16-12 for their fourth win of the season.
Ipswich did win this game on a Friday night last season 54-0. Although they don’t have their main tryscorer Michael Purcell at the moment.
Josh Cleeland is the main item of the team list news. He returns just in time for the Jets. Carlin Anderson, who was one of Ipswich’s best in the past, lines up against his former club.
We Say: Mackay this season seem to win when you don’t expect them and lose when you expect a win. So we say Ipswich to triumph.
EASTS TIGERS v NORTHERN PRIDE
Saturday 3pm
@ Langlands Park
A little bit of trouble for the Tigers as they enter Intrust Super Cup Round 12, as it is on the back of three straight losses, which includes their unbeaten home record being broken by Tweed Heads two games ago.
Thankfully for Easts their opponent this weekend hasn’t won a game since Round 2, although does that mean they are closer to victory? The Pride have lost Jake Clifford to the Cowboys for this weekend, but his 2019 hales partner Brayden Torpy is most certainly playing, and this will be his first game against his old club.
The last time these teams met was in the finals last season, and Easts easily beat the Pride 32-0 to end their season.
The Pride have replaced NRL bound Jake Clifford with the very familiar Jordan Biondi-Odo in the big team news.
We Say: Easts will grind this one out,.
WYNNUM SEAGULLS v TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
Saturday 5pm
@ Kougari Oval
Five wins in a row for Wynnum after last weekend’s win over the Devils, and it sees them in third palce, and on equal wins with the Burleigh Bears. And after playing a lot of away games early in the season, this is the first of five straight home games at Kougari Oval. They haven’t lost yet at home, so a visit to the bayside seems a daunting 2019 prospect.
Comforting the Blackhawks is the knowledge that no Wynnum side has beaten them since their arrival in the competition in 2015. They have an OK record away too, winning three and losing two.
But with so many players in from for Wynnum, it is hard to see Townsville getting past the Seagulls this weekend. Talking of getting past things, Wynnum’s PNG fullback Edene Gebbie goes from strength to strength, and his length of the field try has to ensure he is part of the PNG Kumuls plans for the upcoming test.
Dan Beasley replaces Corey Jensen who is on Cowboys duty on the Gold Coast.
We Say: Wynnum will score a couple early and hold the Blackhawks at arms length for the remainder.
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS v PNG HUNTERS
Saturday 4pm
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Finally a win for the Hunters at home, their win over the Souths Logan Magpies was just their second in total for the season and hard earned from all reports. Perhaps Michael Marum is getting closer to his best line up, although the list of ins and outs for the week means probably not. Ase Boas remains on the outer as a starting half, named on the interchange bench.
While Dolphin Oval will always be fondly remembered as the ground where the Hunters first entertained in the Intrust Super Cup back in 2014 (which was a great day out for everyone), they don’t have a very good record at Dolphin Oval. The Hunters did win their first game at Dolphin Oval that day, but haven’t since. A 28-28 draw in 2015 was highly entertaining, but the best subsequent result.
But this Redcliffe side aren’t going near as well as previous seasons, as their 10th place and three wins for 2019 demonstrates. We thought a corner may have been turned two weeks ago when they thrashed the Capras in Rockhampton, but they followed it up with a loss to Mackay last weekend.
The last two Intrust Super Cup premiers are still in contention for eighth place, but realistically to have any major say in the Intrust Super Cup race a run of wins needs to start now. And based on recent form, you can’t see either team managing that.
No changes for Redcliffe, and the now expected long list of ins and outs for the Hunters. Captain Adex Wera returns to the centres where he is best, The experienced Ase Boas remains the backup half as he is named on the bench and Nick Hasu and Justin Yoka get their chance to nail down their positions. Yoka has been in and out of the side all season. The experienced Stanton Albert in named outside of the 17, so you could see late changes there to accommodate him.
We Say: This really is a hard one to pick, especially as a Dolphins fan by birth and a Hunters fan by admiration. How about a draw? It’s happened before.
CENTRAL CAPRAS v NORTHS DEVILS
TV Game
Sunday 1:10pm
@ Browne Park
The TV cameras head to Rockhampton for the first time in 2019, and visit a Capras side struggling in last place with just one win. But perhaps this is the weekend where they break their run of five straight losses. Forgotten is that the Capras ended 2018 with four straight home wins – over current competition heavyweight Sunshine Coast and their win in the last round over the Hunters knocked the PNG side out of the finals.
Norths are well entrenched in the top eight, but haven’t put a consecutive result together since a four game winning streak came to an end in Round 9. So given the Devils were beaten by Wynnum in last weekend’s TV game, that means Norths are a certainty this weekend. Hopefully for Norths, unlike last weekend against Wynnum, they can concede fewer than six tries in the first half. The second half fightback gives enough confidence that Norths will continue the Capra’s 2019 misery.
Central’s Matthew Wright replacing Maipele Morseu is the only team change for either side.
We Say: Norths just have a few too many weapons for the Capras. They will score early and often and then cruise home.
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS v SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES
Sunday 2:00pm
@ Piggabeen
Tweed Heads joined their feathered rivals in the top four after Round 11 with a fourth straight win seeing them in fourth and the only team on 16 points with an 8-3 record. Just ahead are their flockbusting rival in third, one win better off. The difference is their only home loss of the season which came against Wynnum, Tweed Heads have won the other four.
Souths Logan fell to second last after going down in a tight one to the equaling poorly travelling PNG Hunters, in fact they just swapped places. The Magpies have only two wins from their first 11 games, but happily both of those have been on the road this season. It is still hard to imagine how such a good squad can be struggling for wins, but with the nature of the top eight this season 8th place is still achievable with a good second half season run.
Tweed Heads have some outs as cover for the Titans, back as most are named outside of the 17 you’d expect them all to return to Piggabeen. Gerome Burns returns to halfback for the Magpies, and will have a decent match up with NRL standard Ryley Jacks.
We Say: Tweed Heads in a tight one decided by a late field goal.
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS v BURLEIGH BEARS
Sunday 2:30pm
@ Sunshine Coast Stadium
The match of the round finishes of Intrust Super Cup Round 12, and this game will give an insight into whether anyone can beat the Falcons this year.
Sunshine Coast will have hardly come up against a tougher opponent in as good form, the other occasion being the match against Easts as the curtain raiser for the Souths-Warriors NRL game,in which the Falcons won the game of the two undefeated sides comfortably.
Burleigh last lost in Round 4, and of course Sunshine Coast are yet to be beaten, but the last five games are even more impressive for these two sides. Combining the points scored and conceded for both of these sides for the last five rounds, the for and against would come to 455-64. Just a mere average winning margin of around 40.
The Falcons have put on scores of 72 and 64 in recent weeks, and Burleigh’ have been winning to nil with forty plus margins.
A shame this one isn’t televised, as it would give the later NRL game a run for its money on quality.
Sadly for PNG fans, Justin Olam is out and replaced by Nathan Saumalu in the main team news. Bears are unchanged.
We Say: Sunshine Coast are untouchable at the moment.
