Four teams are tied for sixth place on the Intrust Super Cup ladder after Round 18
THE make-up of the 2016 Intrust Super Cup finals looks set to go down to the wire with four teams locked in sixth-place and two in second as Burleigh Bears battle to retain the competition lead.
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FOUR teams are tied for sixth place on the Intrust Super Cup ladder after Round 18 following crucial wins to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and Ipswich Jets as they continue to keep their finals hopes alive.
The Redcliffe Dolphins have maintained their spot in the top two after a dominant win over the falling Sunshine Coast Falcons while the Seagulls and Jets joined the Souths Logan Magpies and Northern Pride on 18 points
Missing several Melbourne Storm players, the Easts Tigers missed a golden opportunity to jump into the top four after drawing with the CQ Capras at home and Norths Devils’ finals hopes are all but gone after losing to the Burleigh Bears.
Redcliffe Dolphins 28 def Sunshine Coast Falcons 8 at Sunshine Coast Stadium
REDCLIFFE returned to their dominant best against the Sunshine Coast Falcons posting a comfortable 20-point victory.
The Dolphins, who fell to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Round 17, kept their spot in the competition’s top two after the win over the Falcons at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Forward Daniel Bridge started the scoring for Redcliffe with a try in the second minute but the Falcons bounced back through Callum Klein in the 20th minute for scores to be level.
From there, it was all Dolphins with tries to Zach Strasser, Christopher Gesch, Charlie Faingaa and Brandon Lee pushing the lead out to 28-4.
Samuel Wright crossed the line for a late consolation try in the 70th minute but it was too late as Redcliffe recorded their 11th win of the season to keep the third-placed PNG Hunters, who they host on Sunday, at bay.
The Falcons travel to Bishop Park to take on Norths.
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 36 def Souths Logan 26 at Davies Park
STAR performances from skipper Patrick Templeman and fullback Daniel Ogden have pushed the Wynnum Manly Seagulls closer to a finals spot in the Intrust Super Cup.
Despite the inclusions of Brisbane Broncos forwards Herman Ese’ese, Joe Ofahanguae and Travis Waddell for Souths Logan, it was the Seagulls who came out firing through a double from Ogden within 17 minutes.
Luke Archer scored the first try for the Magpies in the 27th minute but Wynnum Manly responded with winger Peter Gubb busting his way through several opponents for the visitors’ third try of the first half to lead 18-4 at the break.
The Seagulls looked like continuing their dominance after a break from Ogden led to a Templeman try in the 42nd minute but Souths Logan scored three straight tries to trail 24-20 with 10 minutes remaining.
But Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard pounced on a clever grubber kick from halfback Mathew Seamark extend the lead to 10 for the Seagulls. Leon Panapa responded for the Magpies just two minutes after but Jon Buchanan’s side finished the game with a try to Mitchell Buckett in the 78th minute.
The win puts the Seagulls level on 18 competition points with the Northern Pride, Souths Logan and the defending premiers Ipswich Jets.
Wynnum Manly host the Northern Pride on Saturday at 6pm while the Magpies host Easts on Sunday afternoon.
Burleigh Bears 36 def Norths Devils 32 at Pizzey Park
NORTHS’ Intrust Super Cup finals absence looks set to stretch into a fourth season despite a brave 36-32 loss to ladder-leading Burleigh on Sunday.
Desperate to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the Devils watched their top-six hopes disappear with another disastrous first half at Pizzey Park.
A Jarryd Dodd try had given the visitors a surprise 12th-minute lead, before the Bears piled on four unanswered tries to take a 24-4 advantage into halftime.
Two more tries extended the scoreline to 36-4 with 25 minutes to play, but Norths refused to concede defeat as Dodd (66th and 76th minutes), Todd Murphy (70th minute), Paul Steele (74th minute) and Michael Lucas (79th minute) all crossed in the final 15 minutes to narrow the margin to four points.
It proved too little, too late for the Devils however, who now sit third-last, three points adrift of the top six.
The Nundah side will now likely need to win its six remaining games, including Sunday’s home clash with Sunshine Coast, to have any chance to featuring in the finals.
Easts Tigers 24 drew CQ Capras 24 at Langlands Park
THE Easts Tigers were not able to overcome the absence of several Melbourne Storm contracted players, finishing with a draw against the improving CQ Capras side at Langlands Park on Sunday.
Easts were missing key forwards Matthew White, Christian Welch, Slade Griffin and more for the game but their depth was shown as they still collected two points from the match.
Tigers forward Matthew Pitman made the most of his extra opportunities, scoring a double while Young Tonumaipe’a, Foisa Peni and Leon Ellia-Niukore also crossed the line for Easts.
Scott Sipple’s side’s finals spot is all but sealed, sitting six points clear of sixth with seven rounds remaining but trail the fourth-placed Townsville Blackhawks by just one point.
The Tigers travel to Davies Park to play Souths Logan on Sunday.
Ipswich Jets 30 def Northern Pride 10 at Barlow Park
IPSWICH’S stunning form reversal continued on Sunday as the one-time wooden spoon contender grabbed a share of a place in the top six.
Sitting second-last after 11 rounds, the defending premiers today sit as one of four teams on 18 competition points after collecting a fourth-straight win with a comprehensive 30-10 triumph over finals rival Northern Pride in Cairns.
The Jets opened the scoring in the third minute through a Wes Conlon penalty goal, before the Pride took a 6-2 lead when Vaipuna Tia-Kilifi found the line in the 15th minute.
But it was all one-way traffic from then on, with Ipswich’s Richard Pandia (19th and 62nd minutes), Mikaere Beattie (22nd minute), Liam Capewell (56th minute) and Ben White (72nd minute) piling on five unanswered tries before Linc Port grabbed a late consolation for the hosts.
The Pride, Souths Logan, Ipswich and Wynnum Manly now share sixth place heading into round 19.
The Jets have a golden opportunity collect a sixth win in seven games when they host last-placed Mackay at 4pm on Saturday.
The Cutters have just two wins in 16 games.
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