Rugby league legends feature in one of the best Intrust Super Cup grand finals
With the NRL nearing a comeback, we take a look back at arguably one of the greatest Queensland rugby league grand finals, which featured stars of today’s game including Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan and Cody Walker.
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IT WAS a grand final that had everything.
Superstars wherever you looked, big hits, brawls, amazing tries and an incredible atmosphere.
The 2013 Intrust Super Cup grand final between the Easts Tigers and Mackay Cutters at the North Ipswich Reserve will go down as arguably one of the most exciting deciders in Queensland Rugby League history.
First of all, just look at the teams that took the field because, at the time, not much was made of just how stacked these teams were.
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Easts, led by rookie coach Craig Ingebrigtsen, were the favourites heading into the grand final with a star-studded roster, including two future State of Origin players in playmaker Cody Walker, who was the Courier Medal player of the year, and hardworking forward Tim Glasby.
The Tigers side also featured a bunch of NRL players.
While their opponents in Mackay, may have come in as underdogs, the Kim Williams coached side would boast two of the superstars of the modern game in Michael Morgan, along with arguably one of the best forwards in NRL history in Jason Taumalolo.
Both teams went through their highs and lows during the regular season with Easts getting off to a slow start and the Cutters having to deal with the tragic loss of star Alex Eisala.
While the Northern Pride took out the minor premiership, Mackay and Easts finished in second and third and already had faced each other earlier in the finals series with the Tigers coming out on top.
“We felt really confident coming in, we had played two really good games against Mackay and the Pride and we just felt we were ready,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“I probably felt we had a better spine than them with Ben Hampton, the late Grant Giess, Cody Walker and Tommy Butterfield but they had an incredibly strong forward back.”
Williams thought his side flew under the radar in the lead up.
“The thing I remember most is how we were underdogs and not really given any chance to win,” he said.
“The week leading into the grand final we had plenty of belief and I was very confident we were going to win.
“I believed we were peaking at the right time of the season. We had plenty of motivation heading into that game.”
The QRL had moved the decider to Ipswich after previously playing at Suncorp Stadium but that didn’t make a difference to the crowd with both Tigers and Cutters faithful packing the stands and creating a carnival like atmosphere.
It was Easts who struck the opening blow after a great pass from Giess opened a gap in the Mackay defence for Butterfield, who gave the ball to the powerful Sa’u for the first try.
And with Walker converting, the Tigers led 6-0 after nine minutes.
Walker then slotted a penalty goal through to put his side up 8-0 after 24 minuted following a kick out on the full from Cutters fullback Anthony Mitchell.
But Mackay struck back just minutes later, attacking on the right edge to find Bureta Faraimo who crossed for the team’s first try of the day to half the deficit after 30 minutes.
An incredible pass from Morgan then set up Faraimo for his second try less than two minutes later after the talented winger went more than 55m to tie the scores before Matt Minto converted from the sidelines to have his team up 10-8.
However a Butterfield bomb had the Cutters backline in all sorted in the 38th minute with Sa’u capitalising on a loose ball to put the Tigers back into the lead at 14-10 at halftime.
“I thought we were dominant for most of the first half,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“We were able to keep Mackay’s playmakers in Minto and Mitchell out of the game but then we gave up too much ball and allowed them to have more ball and get back into it, I think that was a bit of a turning point.”
It didn’t take long for Mackay to hit back with David Milne finding the corner after two questionable passes in the 48th minute and scores were tied once again.
But the play of the game came in the 53rd minute when Easts looked destined to score after creating space on the left wing, however Maele Seve dropped it just before the 50m line and Morgan picked it up and set out on a sprint for the try line.
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Several Easts players gave chase but it was giant forward Matt ‘Fridge’ Zgrajewski who came from the other side of the field to catch Morgan but the Cutters and now North Queensland Cowboys star tiptoed along the sidelines before launching himself with one arm to score one of the great tries in Intrust Super Cup history.
Morgan would also point to the skies after scoring, in dedication to his good friend, Eisala.
With the Cutters leading 20-14, Easts forward Mitch Garbutt, known for his physicality, would respond with another memorable moment, barrelling through three Mackay players to score as the Tigers drew level at 20-all with 10 minutes left.
“I look at those moments and first of all think about Fridge’s effort to try and get Morgan and he looked like he as getting there but that try was incredible,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“Then I remember with Mitch’s try just thinking, how did he get that down. Two pretty memorable moment, you get so wrapped up in it as a coach.”
In the 73rd minute, Mackay had one hand on the trophy with Minto slotting home a field goal to give his side the lead, but the game was far from done.
However, just fie minutes later, the player of the game, Anthony Mitchell capitalised on tired legs from the Easts forwards and capped off one of the best games of his career as Mackay claimed its first ever premiership with a 27-20 victory.
“Two moments stick out for me, Michael Morgan’s try and then Anthony Mitchell’s try to win the game,” Williams said.
“They were both best mates with Alex Elisala who passed away during the season and I know that it meant the world to them to win the grand final in his honour.
“I had a squad that were willing to play for each other – in the big moments of the game that was the deciding factor in my opinion.
“It’s definitely the highlight of my coaching career so far. The thing I cherish the most is the attitude that the Cowboys players brought to our club.
“I believe we created an excellent culture at the Cutters where we welcomed the young guns like Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan, Curtis Rona, Kalifa Fiafai-Loa and Sam Hoare and gave them an avenue to improve and find their way into the NRL.
“But we also had some senior Cowboys who played for us at times throughout the season and they were all of outstanding character. Anthony Mitchell was a regular and an absolute standout but we also had some great contributions from guys like Ashton Sims and Clint Greenshields.
“They really defined the essence of what I wanted the club to be about during my time there.”
While it was jubilation for Mackay, it was devastation for Easts, who despite making the grand final the next year, in a loss to the Pride, thought 2013 was theirs for the taking.
“When you look back at it, 2013 was definitely our best chance,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“But we still look back at it and think about the great season we had and we just had a great group as well.
“To be honest we probably made some tactical errors in that game by not going to Cody Walker enough but we still had our chances to win the game.”
Ingebrigtsen said when you look back at the game itself and the players who starred in the contest, he just felt privileged to be part of it.
“It’s one of the great games for sure,” he said.
“And the amount of star power in that game was incredible, you look at Cody Walker, Tim Glasby, Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan, all who have gone on to become stars in the NRL.”
Ingebrigtsen said it still burns that his teams couldn't get over the line in three grand final appearances, following one more with the Sunshine Coast in 2016.
That grand final also was a memorable moment in the history of both clubs, Easts turning their fortunes around after several years of lacklustre performances and Mackay taking home their first title.
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