CQ Capras women off to the big dance after grounding Seagulls in the semi-final

Team overcomes adversity to down Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the BMD Premiership semi-final. Read how coach Amanda Ohl summed up the victory here.

The CQ Capras women beat Wynnum Manly Seagulls 32-14 in the BMD Premiership semi-final at Rockhampton's Browne Park on May 28, 2022.

The CQ Capras’ women have overcome what coach Amanda Ohl dubbed “hell week” to book a berth in the BMD Premiership grand final.

The minor premiers scored a 32-14 semi-final win over Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Rockhampton’s Browne Park on Saturday to advance to the big dance, which will be played at 2pm next Saturday in Brisbane.

It was a huge effort from the Capras, many of whom had been battling the flu during the past week and on game day.

Their grand final opponent will be either the Burleigh Bears or the North Queensland Gold Stars, who meet in the second semi on Sunday afternoon.

The CQ Capras' women are into the BMD Premiership decider after an 18-point win over Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Saturday's semi-final.

Ohl praised her players’ tenacity, a trait which had become their trademark this season.

“That is fantastic. That is a really good hard-fought win,” she said.

“The scoreboard actually doesn’t reflect the hard work that it took to win that game.

“It was 100 percent effort and dedication out there today.

“We had hell week, we didn’t train at all during the week.

The Capras muscle up in defence against Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

“I said to the girls before the game, just stick to it. It’s going to be a mental game, physically we’re going to be wrecked because 90 percent of the team had the flu.

“Once again, we were faced with adversity and we overcame it. It was a real team effort.”

Capras’ fullback Tamika Upton produced an incredible performance at fullback, scoring the first of the Capras’ six tries in the fourth minute.

The Capras led at 14-10 at half-time, running in three more tries in the second half to seal a memorable victory.

Skipper Mariah Storch capped another inspirational performance with a personal points tally of 12, courtesy of a try and four conversions.

The Capras were impressive in their semi-final win at Browne Park.

An elated Ohl described it was one of the best feelings she has had in her celebrated career.

“This is awesome. They’re a great bunch of girls and it’s well deserved - they’ve worked their arses off to get here,” she said.

“We’ll celebrate tonight a little bit but the focus will clearly be on next week.

“This is new territory for us… but it will be business as usual with training on Tuesday and Thursday and hopefully fly down Friday for the captain’s run.”

BMD Premiership semi-final result: CQ Capras 34 (Tamika Upton, Krystal Sulter, Jessica Powell, Tyla Mitchell, Mariah Storch, Pani Rupapere tries; Mariah Storch, four conversions) d Wynnum Manly Seagulls 14 (Patrice Chambers, Rease Casey, Shaylee Bent tries; Kim Hunt one conversion).