Intrust Super Cup heading to the country and so is our Intrust Super Cup Country Week Preview & Stats.
For those who don’t know Intrust Super Cup Country Week is where the competition takes all seven games to the regions and rural Queensland. For those who do it is another bunch of mostly new Country Week locations.
In addition to the usual H2H stats and barely interesting facts for the 2021 season and games we bring each week, we have a short bit of minimum information on each country location.
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 Country Week 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
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS to beat Sunshine Coast Falcons
WYNNUM SEAGULLS to beat Burleigh Bears
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS to beat Ipswich Jets
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS to beat Souths Logan Magpies
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Mackay Cutters
NORTHERN PRIDE to beat PNG Hunters
BRISBANE TIGERS to beat Central Capras
MATT CROWHURST – ISC GURU
Coming soon
THE GURGLER – MEDIOCRE WEBSITE
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS to beat Sunshine Coast Falcons
BURLEIGH BEARS to beat Wynnum Seagulls
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS to beat Ipswich Jets
TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS to beat Souths Logan Magpies
NORTHS DEVILS to beat Mackay Cutters
NORTHERN PRIDE to beat PNG Hunters
CENTRAL CAPRAS to beat Brisbane Tigers
CURRENT LEADERBOARD
BRENDAN O’FARRELL – Season 70% 59/84 – Last Round 5/7
MATT CROWHURST – Season 67% 45/67 – Last Round 4/7
THE GURGLER – Season 65% 55/84 – Last Week 5/7
Note: Matt missed two and a half rounds.
2021 Intrust Super Cup Current Ladder
Here is the current Intrust Super Cup Ladder. Colour coded to spot the stats.
There’s been a change at the top and some top right rearranging.
2021 Intrust Super Cup Country Week 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.
Country Week Teams originally published on QRL website.
SATURDAY 2:10PM SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS v TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS
(TV GAME)
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
MURGON (Population 2,378)
Distance from Sunshine Coast Falcons 183km – Tweed Heads 351km (NW)
Famous locals – Steve Renouf, Gavin Cooper
Famous for : Murgon is also close to a famous fossil site. The Murgon fossil site is the only such site in Australia with a diverse vertebrate fauna dating to the early Eocene epoch, around 55 million years ago, only 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Local Team: Murgon Mustangs
THOUGHTS & STATS
The Country Week fun kicks off in Murgon with a battle of the birds.
Sunshine Coast got their season back to 50-50 last weekend and are two points outside the top eight thanks to a second half comeback against the PNG Hunters.
Tweed Heads went down in a close one in their rivalry round clash against Burleigh. The Seagulls retain third place but the chasing pack is closing.
Interesting is that just one of the nine clashes between these sides since 2014 have been on a Saturday. Advantage Seagulls then with their one win.
Although the Falcons have the upper hand in the one game played on neutral territory in Country Week.
These teams have only met once a season since 2017 and the Seagulls have scored nil on two occasions. Whilst they’re not at the very top of scoring in the top eight this season, we should expect more than zero points from Tweed Heads. Well more points than the Falcons according to our tip.
PREDICTION
Tweed Heads by 4
SATURDAY 2:15PM BURLEIGH BEARS v WYNNUM SEAGULLS
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
CHINCHILLA (Population 6,612)
Distance from Burleigh 356km – Wynnum 311km (West)
Famous locals – Pete Murray, Ben Ross
Famous for: Melons and the Chinchilla Melon Festival
Local Team: Chinchilla Bulldogs
THOUGHTS & STATS
2019 Grand Final replay taking place in the melon capital of Australia, sounds sweet.
What is also sweet is the Bears’ recent record over Wynnum with six straight wins and a healthy H2H overall advantage since 2014.
Away form may be the concern here for both sides. Wynnum have now lsot their last two road trips (substantially shorter than this weekend’s) and Burleigh have a W2 L4 record away this season. And one of those away games was on the Gold Coast. Although their other win was a thrashing of Norths which is currently the Devil’s only loss this season.
Wynnum’s second away loss last weekend saw them drop from first place on the ladder and a loss here could see the top five really tighten up as Burleigh would be just two points away.
If you look at the end of the match previews you will see each team’s results at non regular grounds since 2014. And there are a lot of non regular grounds to give the QRL credit for spreading the game around. The point being for this game is that Burleigh and Wynnum are two of the best performers away from regular grounds.
PREDICTION
Bears by 8
SATURDAY 3:00PM REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS v IPSWICH JETS
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
QUILPIE (Population 595)
Distance from Redcliffe 992km – Ipswich 919km (West)
Famous locals – Snakes, Professor Don Markwell
Famous for : The area has one of the largest deposits of boulder opal in the world. And some of the worst most venomous snakes.
Local Team: Quilpie Magpies
THOUGHTS & STATS
Happy Days for both clubs last weekend with Ipswich getting a second win for the season and Redcliffe getting a big win over the competition leaders Wynnum at Dolphin Stadium. It broke a run of four straight losses to Seagulls teams.
Ipswich have the upper hand on Redcliffe at Dolphin Stadium, so Redcliffe may be happy to see the game shifted almost a 1000km west. Or not by the end of the bus trip presuming that is the choice of chariot.
Scoring points doesn’t seem to be as big a problem as defence has been this season for the Jets. They are just 40 points shy of the fifth placed Dolphins for points scored despite winning just twice. However they have conceded 100 more points than Redcliffe and are only one point away from having the competition’s worst defence.
Whilst on the subject of Redcliffe, it seems strange that Dolphin Stadium didn’t get the nod as one of the NRL playing hubs. Those three grounds will look pretty tired soon, and what a great way of showing the NRL that they are “Reddy” to go.
PREDICTION
Dolphins by 16
SATURDAY 4:00PM SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES v TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
RICHMOND (Population 648)
Distance from Souths Logan 1548km – Townsville 498km
Famous locals – Jacob Lillyman
Famous for : Recent paleontological discoveries have unearthed the fossils of prehistoric marine creatures, some of which are on display in Richmond at place called Kronosaurus Korner.
Local Team: Richmond Tigers
THOUGHTS & STATS
Just the one loss each in the last six games for both sides coming into this Country Week clash in Richmond.
So with just three points separating third to eighth these clashes are starting to be more significant as the season winds down.
The Blackhawks have the better momentum after beating the Pride last weekend in Rivalry Round. The Magpies went down to the Devils and lost the second half 32-0 last weekend.
Townsville have lost their last two against Brisbane sides which gives the Magpies hope.
Both teams have decent Country Week records so the people in Richmond have plenty to look forward to on Saturday.
PREDICTION
Townsville by 10
SATURDAY 5:00PM MACKAY CUTTERS v NORTHS DEVILS
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
DYSART (Population 2,991)
Distance from Mackay 243km – Norths 943km
Famous locals – Matt Sing
Famous for : Mining
Local Team: Dysart Bulls
THOUGHTS & STATS
Good times for both sides last weekend – the Cutters got their second win of the season and the Devils’ big win over Souths Logan saw them move into top position on the ladder.
Norths have won six in a row against Rockhampton and Mackay based teams, and hold quite a good advantage in the overall H2H.
In fact it is not just Mackay and Rockhampton but coincidentally any side north of Norths has been a good result recently. They are on a ten game winning streak against sides north of Norths and 15 of the last 16 meetings.
Norths also hold the H2H record for Country Week with one win.
Going even further in Norths’ favour is Mackay’s record against Brisbane teams – with 13 losses in a row stretching back to May 2019.
The shorter road trip however should play into Mackay’s hands as they have to cover significantly less distance to get to Dysart, Although given the usual hangout of Devils, surely a mining town where a lot of the action happens below the ground is more suited to a team called the Devils.
PREDICTION
Norths by 18
SATURDAY 5:30PM NORTHERN PRIDE v PNG HUNTERS
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
ATHERTON (Population 7,331)
Distance from Northern Pride 78km – PNG Hunters 80km + 1h 30 flight
Famous locals – Peter Beattie, Dallas Johnson
Famous for: Todd Carney played here while in NRL bad books. Atherton celebrates the Maize festival in August.
Local Team: Atherton Roosters
THOUGHTS & STATS
Promise for the Hunters despite the loss last weekend, as they took a 10-0 lead to the bench with Benji Kott securing a double. But it did end in another loss, their eighth in a row.
But after a very promising start their current ladder position is a disappointment. Injuries have certainly not helped, nor has being based on the Gold Coast and having to deal with quarantine to get extra players.
Given the current run of results, the Hunters aren’t going to make the finals, but there is a World Cup (currently) ahead at the end of the season, so Hunters players could put themselves up for international selection with a strong finish to the season. As it stands very few if any would make a squad.
One stat in the Hunters favour is the Country Week stat, although for the earlier seasons the games were still in PNG. Certainly not the record in Australia which reads at 4-1 to the Pride.
A stat that isn’t in their favour is the Hunters’ poor recent against Cairns or Townsville based teams – losing five in a row.
Barely interesting stat is that the Pride have scored either 24 or 26 in their last four away games. Which is sort of relevant given they are all away games this week. Although the paltry distance the Pride have to travel seems against the vibe of Country Week.
Sadly for PNG fans it all points to a Pride win.
PREDICTION
Pride by 16
SUNDAY 2:10PM BRISBANE TIGERS v CENTRAL CAPRAS (TV GAME)
COUNTRY WEEK QUICK INFO
GLADSTONE (Population 45,130)
Distance from Tigers 517km – Central Capras 107km
Famous locals – Gary Larson
Famous for : Australia’s most northerly surf beach, Fishing, Hosted NRL games.
Local Team: Multiple but Brothers v Calliope is on the undercard.
THOUGHTS & STATS
Not a win from either side in their last six games but at least the Capras have a point after a draw against Ipswich two rounds ago. Last round Ipswich got their second win of the season against the Tigers.
It shouldn’t be a high scoring game with neither side passing 20 points in their last six games either. The Capras have only passed 20 points twice this season (22, 24)
Strangely enough these teams have met before on this ground, which is a rarity for Country Week, and the Tigers have the upper hand. In fact the Capras have only beaten the Tigers once since 2014 and that was in Rockhampton.
It’s been over two seasons and 17 games since the Capras have beaten a Brisbane side. The Tigers are on a seven game winning streak against the Central Queensland based Cutters and Capras.
The Capras came close to breaking their winless 2021 streak against Mackay last week, helped by two PNG players scoring tries. If there is a World Cup this year Nixon Putt is a must for Kumul selection. We reckon they’ll go one better this weekend.
PREDICTION
Capras by 2
STAT ATTACK – TEAM RESULTS AT NON REGULAR GROUNDS
The Intrust Super Cup moves around quite a lot. By our count it is 61 different venues since 2014 that are not the current ground of any of the Intrust Super Cup.
Now that is really spreading the love.
Talking of love, here’s the results for all team at non regular grounds to show which teams love the neutral ground more than others.
REMAINING GAMES
Note Round 12 will be played next week in a previously scheduled gap due to Covid lockdown.
