Our Intrust Super Cup Round 11 Preview is here, and this is a reverse of the Round 5 fixtures earlier in the season which feels so long ago Anthony Milford was playing for Souths Logan.
It is also a rare weekend in the Intrust Super Cup where there are more Sunday games than on Saturday. Why not take advantage of the glorious winter weather and get along to game.
Our weekly preview features expert tips from Intrust Super CEO Brendan O’Farrell, Intrust Super Cup man of knowledge Matt Crowhurst, and us. Those two battling it out for top tipster.
There’s also stats for H2H, for the 2021 season, and other points of interest and various other barely interesting facts.
Probably more than one could ever need or want.
Don’t forget you can watch two for the games these days on Kayo Freebies or via the QRL website
2021 Intrust Super Cup Round 11 Tips
As ever we have attempted to get some expert tips to accompany each weekly preview.
This season we feature no less than the CEO of competition sponsor Intrust Super Brendan O’Farrell for another season. We also have tips from Intrust Super Cup guru Matt Crowhurst who knows a lot more than most about Queensland’s premier rugby league competition.
Less interesting is that we also supply our own tips.
BRENDAN O’FARRELL – CEO INTRUST SUPER
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS to beat Sunshine Coast Falcons
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Northern Pride
IPSWICH JETS to beat Central Capras
BURLEIGH BEARS to beat PNG Hunters
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS to beat Redcliffe Dolphins
WYNNUM SEAGULLS to beat Brisbane Tigers
SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES to beat Mackay Cutters
MATT CROWHURST – ISC GURU
Coming soon
THE GURGLER – MEDIOCRE WEBSITE
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS to beat Sunshine Coast Falcons
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Northern Pride
DRAW – Central Capras v Ipswich Jets
PNG HUNTERS to beat Burleigh Bears
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS to beat Tweed Heads
WYNNUM SEAGULLS to beat Brisbane Tigers
SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES to beat Mackay Cutters
CURRENT LEADERBOARD
BRENDAN O’FARRELL – Season 69% 48/70 – Last Round 5/7
MATT CROWHURST – Season 68% 41/60 – Last Round 5/7
THE GURGLER – Season 64% 45/70 – Last Week 3/7
Note: Matt missed a round and a half.
2021 Intrust Super Cup Round 11 Stats & Match by Match Preview
Here is where we go through each game on offer this weekend with the teams, stats and points of interest to get into your local team this weekend.
Round 10 Teams originally published on QRL website.
SATURDAY 2:00PM SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS v TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
THOUGHTS & STATS
A point of interest before diving into the stats is the name Tepai Moeroa on the Sunshine Coast Falcons team sheet. Signed by Melbourne from rugby union less than a week ago at time of writing this, the former Eels player of over 100 games is a pretty handy inclusion for the Sunshine Coast this weekend. Another rough gem for the Storm who will be top, top NRL class soon enough.
Townsville have the superior recent record over the last four games with a 3-1 compared the Falcon’s 1-3, although the Falcons three losses have come against three of the top four. Townsville’s recent run of games have been a little easier.
The Blackhawks hold the overall H2H record on the Sunshine Coast 4-2, but filter that to Saturdays and the Blackhawks are an unbeaten 2-0.
Despite only winning two of five games away this season Townsville have scored the most points on the road and conceded the fewest.
The Falcons have a similar W2 L3 record at home this season with their two wins coming against two of the bottom three.
One wonders with the NRL Storm v Tigers kick off at the same ground at 7:30pm whether this game could get a better timeslot and be made a double header with the NRL match, but it being ticketed as a separate event.
PREDICTION
Blackhawks by 10
SATURDAY 2:10PM NORTHS DEVILS v NORTHERN PRIDE
TV GAME – KAYO / QRL WEBSITE
THOUGHTS & STATS
A clash between two top five sides that have lost just three times between this season awaits as the weekend’s first TV game. And a match between two sides with north in their name but are 1600km apart.
Having seen Norths live last weekend, it was hard not to be impressed as they eventually wore down the PNG Hunters who gave them a decent contest.
Tyrone Roberts has been named to start for the Devils after coming on in the second half last weekend and providing a try assist via kick within a minute. Impressive on the day was Bernard Gregorius who scored on his Devils debut in the centres but was a handful for the Hunters. We were also impressed by the young Xavier Willison who has moved up from colts recently and got big minutes off the bench and held his own against the fearsome PNG Hunters.
Despite teams sitting in the top five the Pride are sitting fourth last for points scored, but they do have the second leanest defence with Norths the next best in third. So maybe not quite the high scoring affair awaits on Saturday. Although second best defense still sees 20 points conceded on average per game, so maybe not.
Both teams are averaging 1.6 competition points at home (Devils) and away (Pride) with the Pride’s a little more impressive as they are still undefeated away this season (W3 D2). So nothing in it for home v away stats.
The worry for the Pride is their overall away record v Brisbane sides since 2014 with a winning % of just 29%. But the Pride do edge the H2H at Bishop Park 3-2 at the moment, but then Norths have the Saturday advantage (W5 L2 D1)
PREDICTION
Devils by 4
SATURDAY 6:00PM CENTRAL CAPRAS v IPSWICH JETS
THOUGHTS & STATS
Two teams in bad need of a win face off in Rockhampton on Saturday. Ipswich at leas have won once this season with their only win of the season coming over the Capras in Round 5.
Looking at the H2H between these sides it is heavily weighed in the Jets favour 10-2, but looking back at the last eight games there is a pattern – (most recent game first) LLLWLLLW. Since the last three results for the Capras have been a loss this means a win is surely due.
Ipswich are 0-4 on the road this season and have conceded the second most points away. At least the Capras have one point at home this season after a draw with the Pride.
The Capras haven’t won at home on a Saturday since 2018, but they did win a few in a row around the last win, so maybe sneaking a victory here could lead to a good run. And although their home favour the Jets 3-2, the Cparas have won two of the last three and the most recent clash in 2018 at Browne Park.
PREDICTION
Draw
SUNDAY 1:30PM PNG HUNTERS v BURLEIGH BEARS
THOUGHTS & STATS
A big day out for the Hunters and Bears as they grace CBUS Stadium as the undercard to the NRL, giving their players a chance to shine in front of NRL fans and teams. A rare chance indeed for the Hunters. Maybe enough to catch the eye of an NRL team looking for a feeder team?
As for the PNG Hunters they may have lost last weekend but there are loads of positives. We were there to see them live and were impressed at various stages.
First of all, the Ase Boas-Charlie Simon halves combination looked good, and is well worth persisting with this season. You only have to look to the Broncos to see what rotating the halves too much can do.
Secondly, there seemed to be just a little bit of flair returning to the Hunters, not quite the style that made them unplayable at times in their first few seasons and won so many new fans, but just a little more which is always welcomed in our book. A dazzling example of this was the solo try to Solo Wane. He ran 110 metres from in goal line to in goal line after a calculated risky in goal pass was thrown to the Winger.
And they were matched it with the Devils up until the last quarter of the game when Norths experienced men took over. And the Hunters had a few tries disallowed which given just a touch more luck would have given them a chance of victory late. The big issue on the day was their right side defence which saw Norths score too many easy tries.
Big team news and sad news in general was the hospitalisation of their star centre Jokare Bire according to this report. One would presume he won’t play so the dropped Norman Brown may find his place back in the side. An exciting piece of team news is the return of Joe Joshua. Joshua has plenty of promise and showed plenty in his only outing in 2020 after starring but being dropped for disciplinary reasons in 2019. He could be just the extra bit of spark the Hunters need at the back.
They will need all they have against the Bears who have beaten them the last three times including the traditional Anzac Day clash earlier in the season, which could have gone either to be honest.
The Bears have also won the last three games on the Gold Coast – a stat which won’t help the Hunters.
One stat that will is the Bears away record – they have won just one of their five away games this season.
The PNG Hunters need a win, and soon if they don’t want to be also-rans in 2021. Why not this weekend.
PREDICTION
PNG Hunters by 2
SUNDAY 2:00PM TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS v REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS
THOUGHTS & STATS
Tweed Heads got the better of Redcliffe earlier in the season breaking a run of four straight wins for the Dolphins, but now Redcliffe can not only take revenge for that earlier loss, but can also steal the Seagull’s third place on the Intrust Super Cup ladder.
The Dolphins have the H2H record advantage at Piggabeen 2-1 with just a point separating last time they met there in 2019.
Both sides share a trait heading into this weekend. Tweed Heads’ only loss at home this season has been against top two side Norths, and Redcliffe haven’t beaten either top two side away this season. Redcliffe did win both of their away games on the Gold Coast in 2019. And they are second best for points scored away this season.
We think the Dolphins can go back to back against Gold Coast sides in consecutive weeks.
PREDICTION
Redcliffe by 8
SUNDAY 2:10PM WYNNUM SEAGULLS v BRISBANE TIGERS
TV GAME – KAYO / QRL WEBSITE
THOUGHTS & STATS
A local derby between the Tigers and Wynnum seems like a good day out, and the Seagulls come into the game on their longest losing streak of the season – one – after their first loss of the season to Souths Logan Magpies last weekend.
The Tigers losing streak is just a little longer at four in a row, and they now sit 10th on the Intrust Super Cup ladder.
It’ll be hard to break that run facing a Wynnum side who are yet to lose at home this season. The Seagulls average 40 points per game at home too. They have lost just three of their 19 home games since 2019 and two of those losses were against Burleigh.
Loads of good players to watch this weekend from NRL stars to great Intrust Super Cup players and up and coming talent.
PREDICTION
Wynnum by 12
SUNDAY 3:00PM SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES v MACKAY CUTTERS
THOUGHTS & STATS
The weekend finishes at Davies Park for the weekend’s most lop sided fixture with Souths Logan Magpies taking on a Mackay side they haven’t lost to for our records going back to 2014. Two draws being the best results and the last of those was in 2016.
Eight wins in a row for the Magpies against the Cutters, and the earlier game this season saw them with a huge 60-10 win. They did have Karmichael Hunt, Anthony Milford and other Broncos in the side that night.
It’s not only the Magpies who the Cutters have struggled against, they last beat a Brisbane side away in 2018 ten games ago.
Souths Logan come into the game in decent form, on a run of four straight wins, and they did just become the first team to beat the Wynnum Seagulls this season.
One point of interest revolves around talk of some pundits suggesting Corey Oates be drafted in for State of Origin Game Two. This would be a sensation as we can;t recall too many okayers going from Intrust Super Cup to State of Origin. At least that promotion from the Magpies gives him a better chance of winnign than at the Broncos. But then again after Game One….
That aside, hard to see anything other than a Magpies win here.
PREDICTION
Souths Logan by 20
