Meninga, Connell and Harvey 19s league best round 2 players
UPDATE: Who were the best players across the Meninga Cup, Connell Challenge and Harvey 19s rugby league in round 2 - including Sunday fixtures? Revealed here.
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The Norths Devils Meninga Cup side and Brisbane Tigers Connell Challenge outfit fired a shot across the bow of rivals with grand wins this afternoon.
Lote Tuqiri’s Tiger cubs won, with centre Tyrese Tovao scoring a remarkable four tries and five-eight Markatato Nosa starring, beat Norths 28-18.
Then another No.6 starred at the same venue - Leo Williams Oval - but this time in a Norths Devils jersey as Karl Oloapu lit up a gloomy afternoon with a sizzling display.
He and big Ben Te Kura were star performers in a white hot side which won the Meninga Cup clash 60-6, but fullback Tory Bath was razor sharp as well.
Norths coach Shane Boyd also had kind words for unsung middle forward Damascus Neemia and edge forward Angus Hinchey.
It took 17 minutes of too and fro before Norths scored the opening try, and with momentum they proved unstoppable as Shannon Subritzky Stewart scored three tries, Bath and Oloapu two each.
Bath also produced a lovely ball for Kallum Weatherall-Stacey to score.
“After the first 20 minutes when we were poor with our ball control, we regrouped and did some good things with the footie,’’ said Norths coach Boyd.
“At halftime I challenged them not to go away from what we were doing well, to keep working on the ball and not over complicate it. And they did that.’’
Hats off to Brisbane Tigers forward Jack McCosker who got his coaches nod as best player in a beaten side.
In the earlier Connell Challenge match, Tovao emphasised the never-say-die attitude of the side when he scored two of his four tries but chasing long distance kicks. That desperation was needed to get over the top of Norths.
“He chased hard and that is what I like about this side. They compete,’’ Tuqiri said.
“That is something you probably can’t coach, and they did that really well today.’’
But the real star was five-eight Nosa. “He got us around the park really well and produced some good plays, some last passes for tries and kicks,’’ Tuqiri said of Nosa.
Norths coach Robert Tanielu said his prop Sam Hyne edge forward Presley Folau were best for the Devils.
And in Toowoomba this afternoon, the Ipswich Jets found their way to the winners post 24-20 over the Clydesdales (report below in this story), but the Clydesdales claimed victory in the Meninga Cup 32-22 over the Jets.
Clydesdales Meninga coach Brendan Wilson said he was pleased with the way his side started and then got back into the game after losing momentum. “We knuckled down again and got back in the grind,’’ he said.
But Wilson said his side lacked “football awareness’’ at times after getting excited following tries.
Best for Western Clydesdales was the versatile Declan Ryan, while brilliant prospect Lyhkan King-Togia produced for his side at five-eight.
Ipswich Meninga coach Shane Harris said his side did not sustain enough good moments long enough to gather momentum needed to win the game.
He praised middle forward Regan Payne and prop Lachlan Togia, both of whom did a great job off the bench to give their side front foot ball.
Also in Toowoomba today, the Western Clydesdales Harvey 19s had a win in the girls competition, 38-4 over Ipswich.
Reyna Core scored after just two minutes, one of seven tries scored by the home side, and again in the 31st minute.
Mackenzie Zeller polished things off for her side with a try in the 43rd minute.
And the Brisbane Tigers girls had a win in the last match of the weekend - 24-4 over Norths.
Uese Delilah Eliu, Tahlia Marshall and Malaela Su’a shared the five tries between them, with the remarkable Su’a coming off selection in the Super W Queensland squad aged just 16 years.
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In Saturday’s highlights, Souths Logan Meninga coach Karmichael Hunt continued his successful start to his rugby league coaching career while the Cutters and Blackhawks Connell Challenge outfits survived near furnace conditions to win round 2 clashes.
The Wide Bay Bulls also had a morale boosting draw against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, 24-all, in Connell Challenge action on Saturday.
Hunt, a dual international who returned to rugby league as a player in 2021, has now progressed into the coaching ranks where he will oversee Souths Logan’s under 18 playing group.
His team claimed a 30-18 round 1 win and won again today over Burleigh Bears.
“I am enjoying it. It is a different perspective to playing. I feel more relaxed than when I was heading into a game as a player,’’ Hunt said.
“The tension more on the boys. I just sit back and make a few calls.’’
MENINGA CUP (Saturday fixtures)
Souths Logan v Burleigh Bears
The Souths Logan winger Israel Leota scored in the opening minute while half Jye Grey shone as the Magpies burst out of the blocks on the way to beating Burleigh 34-24.
Coach Karmichael Hunt watched his side rattle up a 28-nil halftime advantage after Grey found an immediate combination with his centre Devonte Vaivela.
Big Magpies prop Louruce Brown was also outstanding before Burleigh Bears found their mojo to score four tries in the second half - to Xavier Asi, Dorian Lotaki, Karauria Stokes-Mahara and Lotaki again.
“All in all it was a really good team performance,’’ said Magpies coach Hunt.
Souths winger Leota scored early off a Grey pass, and again when he chased a grubber kick to the corner which everyone else had given up on.
It was a fine effort by Souths Logan coming off a limited preparation given disruptions caused by flooding around their region.
Bears coach Michael Witt said they started poorly, completing two sets in the first half and were behind the eight ball from then on. “And Souths were pretty good,’’ Witt praised.
He said “everything’’ needed to improve, but obviously defence was a priority.
The best for the Bears was interchange forward Dorian Lotaki.
Blackhawks v Northern Pride
Towering centre Elekana Suavai scored two tries as the Blackhawks pushed off the 2022 season with a 30-nil win over Northern Pride.
In stifling conditions, winger Tekelu Mene was dynamic (Townsville Blackhawks) was absolutely outstanding in his team’s 30-nil win, while dummy half Tajshon Santo-Messa got the show rolling from the ruck.
Blackhawks coach Roy Baira said his team started well with a stronf forward packing digging in together.
He said conditions were very hot and there was drop ball in the second half, but the start was really good.
Baira said skipper Damon Marshall was enormous at No.13 in both stints, and was supported around the ruck by hooker Tajshon Santo-Messa and Henry Teutau.
And on the edge Suavai combined dangerously with Mene.
Mackay Cutters v Capras
The Capras defence was key in the team’s 30-16 win over Mackay Cutters in the Meninga Cup.
Playing with 12 men in the second half, and running into the breeze, the Capras’ players rolled their sleeves up and worked hard with and without the ball.
“Our forwards set the platform in the first half and in the second half, playing with 12 men, as a team they united, got together and settled down and played football,’’ said Capras’ coach RJ Stewart.
Fullback Matt Hill was tremendous at fullback for the central Queensland team, second rower Kurt Fisher was a handful, captain Kelly Shadlow led from the front and hooker Carter Wight was a willing participant.
Mackay coach David Stevens said his team’s effort was below par with too many errors.
But on the flip side he said they did keep turning up in defence.
“We had about 40 per cent completion but kept turning up in D (defence). They showed a little bit of resiliance to be competitive to the end. It could have been easily been 50 or 60 to 10.
Stevens said Mackay’s best in the Meninga Cup were centre Kai Simmons, Baden Robinson and Baily Jess.
The Capras had a great start to the game with three tries within the space of seven minutes in the first half.
Jackson Miller, Carter Wight and Kurt Fisher all crossed as Capras jumped out to a 16-nil break.
But Kai Simon scored just before halftime which would have raised the Cutters’ hopes.
Baden Robinson then scored for Mackay after the break but the Capras could not be pegged back.
Wide Bay Bulls v Sunshine Coast Falcons
The Sunshine Coast Falcons produced a hard working 28-2 victory over Wide Bay in Meninga Cup.
Mitchell Jennings, Tulloch McLellan and Jayden Smith scored first half tries as the Falcons established a 16-2 break.
Falcons coach Danny Grey said it was a tough contest and his team’s defence around the tryline was most pleasing.
Jack Underhill led the way for Falcons, along with Harry Dwyer, Dyllan Cousens and Ethan Polner.
The best for Wide Bay were forwards Kyle MacDonald and Kyle Knight, and fullback Connor Yeats.
Redcliffe v Tweed Seagulls
The reigning champion Tweed Seagulls got the job done 32-10 on the Gold Coast.
Tweed led 12-nil at halftime and went on with the job.
Tweed were entering the season with a new halfback-hooker combination of Josh Lynn and Tanu Nona after Tom Weaver (Titans, opens), Oskar Bryant (Titans, opens) and Blake Mozer (Broncos, Souths Logan) moved on.
Coach Tim Maccan said the performance was an improvement on the previous week and his side stuck to its game plan.
But he was still looking to improve “our defence through the middle’’. “We let Redclffe off the hook a few times,” he added.
Tweed’s edges were strong, with Jackson Lepow on debut doing a really good job at left centre.
The best for the Tweed was Michael Roberts.
Redcliffe coach Jamie Floss said “our mistakes and errors were costly’’.
He said it was important for the next match to have a high finish in his attacking sets, to get at least a repeat set of six or score a try.
Redcliffe had plenty of willing workers including Drew Timms, Jake Goulding, Leroy Murray, Jacob Laban and Will McCulloch.
CONNELL CHALLENGE
Redcliffe 40 defeated Tweed Seagulls 0
Redcliffe Dolphins captain Prestyn Laine-Sietu scored three tries as his team got away to a winning start by beating Tweed Seagulls 40-nil.
Coach Chris Little was pleased with continued improvement from trials to competition. “From our trials to round 1 we wanted to improve our discipline in so many different aspects,’’ said Little.
He said his team’s patience in completing sets was a highlight but there was “lots of room for improvement across the park’’.
Best for Redcliffe was the mobile middle forward Laine-Sietu while front rowers Peter Uini and Joseph Pouniu were relentless and both rewarded with tries.
Tweed coach Neil Richards said he had an outstanding group of young men, but ball control needed to improve 10-fold. “Unfortunately our ball control was non-existent. I think we completed one set in the first half and that gives you an idea where we are at. Just the real basics are going astray.’’
For Tweed forwards Tom Summer, Jacob Morton, fullback Jake Mendham, winger Xavier Tauaifaiga and centre Thor Barnes gave plenty.
Souths Logan Magpies 24 defeated Burleigh Bears 22
The Magpies had a remarkable comeback win over Burleigh, with Curtis Martin-Waru, Duquan Talaepa (twice) and Mahonri Tiotala scoring second half tries after the team trailed at the break. Magpies’ Cory Pearse also kicked the winning goal.
Souths coach Ben Trim said he liked the way the side stuck to the second half game plan, along with “our effort on effort in defence in the first half’’.
Magpies middle forward Fa’apale Feaunati had a big match, particularly his second stint effort, while fullback Bailey Trew was outstanding out the back, giving the passes for several tries.
Bears coach Paul Kuhnemann said it was a tale of two halves
He said in the first half the side completed well, defended strongly and scored some good tries.
Early in the second half Burleigh then scored another try (Nayte Saaga) following a 40-20 kick, and the Bears looked set for a win.
“But then we completed about two out of 10. Momentum is a big thing in his age group,’’ Kuhneman said.
The best players for Bears were Sunny Kama and Sam Stephenson.
Blackhawks v Northern Pride
Elijah-Shane Tapau scored a double as the Blackhawks secured a seven tries to one, 36-4 victory in very testing conditions.
“It was very high temperatures and we grinded it out. It is something to start with’’ said Blackhawks coach Nathan Norford.
Leading the shutout were centres Cohen Dittmann and Amaziah Murgha, while Norford said his “core’’ forward stood-up along with No.9 Braith Dawson.
For the Pride, Xapheniah Tanner scored his team’s first half try.
Mackay Cutters v Capras
The Mackay Cutters turned a 10-6 halftime lead into a second half defensive shutout of the Capras in dreadfully hot conditions.
Bailey Anderson scored the only try of the second half - a long distance effort - as the Cutters got the job done 16-6. “We just gritted it out. It was tough,’’ said Mackay coach Andy Battaia.
Battaia said it was a great effort by his middle players in the heat, spearheaded by prop Darcy Clark who made bulk metres and tackled his backside off. But all Mackay’s middle men were outstanding.
Winger Anderson rewarded the effort of his forwards with two long distance tries, while centres Will Veitch and Brady McMillan played well.
Capras coach Duane Carpenter said his team was poor, dropping too much possession from start to finish. “I thought our effort areas were poor,’’ he said.
But he praised halfback-dummy half Braelan Marsh, along with interchange forward Dylan Neden and Zac Bateman.
Wide Bay Bulls v Sunshine Coast Falcons
The Bulls and Falcons played out a 24-all draw after the Falcons surged home with three tries in seven minutes.
Wide Bay shocked their rivals before the Sunshine Coast’s Zac Garton scored a double and Koby Brown scored - all converted by Caiden Ah-See - to set up a thrilling finish.
“If you had said to me before the match that we would both walk away with a point, I’d have shaken your hand and taken it,’’ said Wide Bay coach Craig Brough.
“We have proven ourselves that we are not the easy beats any more. We have had a good preparation and have some great kids with a lot of pride,’’ he said.
Sunshine Coast coach Jack Dreger said ball control let his side down.
He said in the first half his side dropped too much ball on tackle No.1.
“I am very disappointed. The boys went out with the wrong attitude and gave them too much ball and the (the Bulls) played well,’’ he said.
Dreger said the team would also look to improve its defence by locking up the ball in tackles.
Best for the Falcons was halfback Ellyjah Birve.
In a genuine team effort for Wide Bay, half Lucas Brough was outstanding while No.13 Noah Laws, centre Tom Morcom and fullback Blake Power shone.
Ipswich Jets v Clydesdales
The Ipswich Jets claimed a see-sawing thriller, 24-20 after Frank Melelosa scored minutes from fulltime.
The Jets had jumped out of the blocks to lead early with tries by Cooper Cracknell, Isaac Togia and Lachlan Coburn across the first quarter of the match.
But by midway in the second half Clydesales had hit the front when Jake Durie scored, only for the side to have their hearts broken by the Jets’ Melelosa crossing late in the match.
The Jets’ five-eight Netani Lesimakimatuku had his kicking boots on with four conversions from four attempts.
Ipswich coach Jye Tuaimau-Goodman had high praise for his captain David Leota who stepped up to the plate with his leadership and talk, particularly late in the game when the Jets were down to 12 men.
“I was happy with our middle defence,’’ Tuaimau-Goodman said, adding Toowoomba’s three tries came from long range efforts.
But he wants his edge defence working better next week.
Aside from Leota and No.6 Lesimakimatuku also had a splendid match for Ipswich.
Connell Challenge Toowoomba coach Scott Schultz said his side made some crucial errors at key times, but he was pleased the way the team got back into the match.
But he wanted to improve the defence around the ruck ahead of the next clash.
Interchange middle forward Chris Mann got the Players’ Player award, while No.6 Jack Durie was also strong for the Clydesdales.
HARVEY NORMAN under 19s
Tweed Seagulls 52 defeated Redcliffe 0
Tweed coach Lambros To’omaga said he was proud of his girls after their Harvey Norman under 19 start to the season.
“I was proud of the girls given we are the inaugural under 19 match and the fact we have a lot of first time rugby league players who have come over from touch football and rugby union. We were stoked with the way they adapted.’’
To’omaga said it was an aim of the coaching staff to “give the girls their freedoms’’ in backing their skills.
Redcliffe coach Deon Bird said the scoreboard did not reflect their effort or skill level in the first half.
“We were in it in the first half but the scoreboard did not reflect that,’’ Bird said. “We need to work on our defence, however the positives were we showed a lot of really good skills.’’
Redcliffe’s best was fullback Tanisha Tryhorn.
Burleigh Bears v South Logan
Burleigh came from behind to defeat Souths Logan 26-14 at Pizzey Park.
Ebony Raftstrand-Smith, Lily-Rose Kolc and Dannii Perese scored second half tries as Burleigh put together a 22 point second half performance.
Souths Logan had led 10-4 at the break and maintained the lead when the powerful, mobile Rialey Baty scored midway into the second half.
But the Bears then finished with a flourish.
“I was impressed because we did not go into the game as planned, but after halftime we went to another level as a team,’’ said Burleigh coach Shane Gerrard. “The girls showed a lot of character today.’’
Gerrard said getting things right from the start and building momentum was work in progress, and that was his aim moving forward.
Souths Logna coach Jury Te Tauri said most impressive was his team’s positive attitude.
“It showed a lot of people we can play as one,’’ Te Tauri said.
He said considering the side was coming off no trial matches, they handled going to the powerhouse Burleigh Bears club really well.
But he said they needed tighter defence around the middle.
Souths fullback Kiarah Siauane did a great job for her side, as did edge forward Jaedynn
Leger, while No.13 and captain Dilyza Leugaimafa led by example.
Mackay Cutters v Capras
The Cutters had a tough, grinding victory in the heat by 22-8 over Capras.
Middle forward Ataliah Love led the way throughout in a performance which was iced by two tries.
Coach Matt Sanders said it was a tough win in difficult conditions.
“I was really happy with the toughness, particularly in the second half,’’ Sanders said..
“We were a little bit sloppy with the ball at times, but all in all it was a really big effort in with heat and defence got them over the line.
He said Love and centre Paityne Johns were his best players.
SUNDAY GAMES
Connell Challenge
Clydesdales defeated Ipswich
Tigers defeated Norths
Meninga Cup
Ipswich beat Clydesdales
Norths beat Tigers
Harvey Norman 19s
Clydesdales 38 defeat Ipswich 4
Easts 24 defeated Norths 4
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