Meninga Cup finalists confirmed; Best round 7 players
The four Meninga Cup semi-finalists have been confirmed. Read who they are, along with the best round 7 players who included two former GPS First XV rugby stars signed by the Cowboys.
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Two former GPS First XV rugby stars now signed by the Cowboys helped the Townsville Blackhawks escape the clutches of a looming upset in the seventh and final round of Meninga Cup junior league on Saturday.
Mobile middle forward Will Sullivan and enterprising halfback Zack Lamont helped ice the Damon Marshall-inspired recovery over the Capras as the Blackhawks booked a place in the semi-finals.
The Blackhawks will now play SC Falcons while Souths Logan will confront Norths in a semi-final double header at Redcliffe’s Moreton Daily Stadium on April 23.
Souths Logan and Norths played in the final round 7 match today at Bishop Park, with Souths Logan winning a mistake riddled match 38-18.
Magpies hooker Blake Mozer produced a first half masterclass to oversee his team leading 28-nil before Norths took advantage of some Souths mistakes to put pressure back on their rivals (report below).
Norths have to play a flood catch-up match again on Wednesday, but will then have a 10 day break before the semi-final.
In other matches Wynnum Manly finished the season with a 28-20 win over Redcliffe, while Tweed Seagulls defeated Burleigh Bears 26-24 in a Gold Coast derby. (Reports below).
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In FNQ, Blackhawk’s Sullivan and Lamont shone on Saturday.
Sullivan is a a former GPS track and field discus champion who was an athletic powerhouse for Ipswich Grammar School last year, displaying great strength at the point of contact.
Lamont was to the fore in 2021 for a young Churchie who gave a bold account of themselves in GPS First XV last season. His deeds included kicking the winning conversion from the sideline to help topple The Southport School.
Both boys, who are ensconced in the Cowboys system, helped get their side out of trouble today on their way to a 28-16 defeat of Capras.
Blackhawks responded from a 12-nil deficit after a shock two-try start by Capras.
Tana Martin of the Capras scored within seconds of the game starting and then again in the sixth minute when Kurt Fisher crossed before Townsville captain Damon Marshall twice showed his team the way to the tryline.
Joe Elijah then scored on halftime and the Blackhawks had hit the front.
“We didn’t start well and Capras jumped out early,’’ said Blackhawks coach Roy Baira.
“Damon (Marshall) again played the full game in the middle and our bench core of Will Sullivan and Sione Afu changed momentum back for us.
“Zac Lamont and Wade Johson played well on the edges as well.’’
Capras coach RJ Stewart said his team could not have started better, but their handling deteriorated as the match progressed.
““We got off to a great start and first 20 minutes we were pretty dominate, putting the ball into the corner and putting pressure on with our defence.’’
But their handling collapsed early in the second half, giving Townsville possession.
“There was too much tackling. They must love just tackling,’’ joked Capras coach Stewart.
“Our completion rate was not up to scratch but the boys dug deep which was a good thing.’’
The Capras usual suspects Bailey Cavanough, Will Lewis and Carter Wight toiled hard all day, while Kurt Fisher played well on the edge.
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The Sunshine Coast Falcons confirmed its place in the semi-finals with an outstanding defensive effort in a 28-10 victory over Clydesdales.
Captain Dyllan Cousens rallied his team after a first half send off - and also a sin binning which left Falcons stranded a man down for much of the match.
“It was a fantastic defensive effort,’’ said Falcons coach Danny Gray.
He said it was the perfect way to enter the semi-finals, having worked “really hard’’ as a team with one less player on the field.
“They should be proud of themselves,’’ Gray said.
He said the semi-final berth was a “really good reward for those young blokes’’.
Gray said it was impossible to single any of his players out after the win.
The Falcons tries were scored by Ethan Bainbridge (two), Cayse Munro, Jett Elich and Brooklenn Mundraby-Grogan.
Clydesdales actually scored after only a few seconds courtesy of Lyhkan King-Togia and led late in the first half again when Brayden Falvey crossed.
Coach Brendan Wilson said Sunshine Coast “completely outplayed and out enthused us’’. “We didn’t show any patience with the footy.’’
He said prop Darcy Carswell was again excellent for the Clydesdales.
At Barlow Park, the Mackay Cutters produced its most polished performance of the season in beating Northern Pride 36-10.
“If we had another six games, we’d be in the top 2 (semi-finalists) the way we have been gelling,’’ said Cutters coach David Stevens.
“We are playing as a unit.’’
Cutters lead 20-nil at halftime, with hooker Xavier Kerrisk finding some ruck room after his props Elliot McLeod and Bailey Jeffs had found their stomachs and quick play-the-balls.
But the best in an excellent team effort was arguably edge forward Baden Robinson and halfback Jaxon Purdue who produced a killer kicking game.
Robinson has made an adjustment to his game in recent weeks, stepping late and pushing through the line and it worked wonders against Pride.
Northern Pride coach Steven Lesina said he was proud of the way his team played to the 70th minute despite trailing by a big margin at the break.
“We pushed through to the end,’’ he said.
“We gave it a red hot crack to finish the season and saw it through to the 70th minute.’’
He said his young side, with only a couple of 18-year-olds, and his side would be “bigger and better next year’’.
He said Caleb Eaton kicked well into the corners and was not afraid to take the line on, while Liam O’Brien’s dummy half raids “got our heads back in the game’’ during the second half.
At Wondai, Ipswich Jets winger Alton Naiyep scored three tries in 14 minutes as the Jets enjoyed a big away win 46-6 over the Wide Bay Bulls.
Naiyep scored just before halftime, then two in quick succession midway through the second half to accelerate his team away from their rivals.
But he also had a big match around his try scoring feats, being unselfish in passing to teammates or finding his feet quickly after being tackled.
Ipswich coach Shane Harris said he could not have been prouder of the way his team responded after loses in round 1 and 2.
“This playing group are the best I have coached,’’ Harris said.
“They are tight knit, coachable and worked hard for each and made my job and the coaching group’s job very, very easy,’’ he said.
“It was a solid performance by us today. It was a fairly comfortable in the end and we played the best game we could have in the conditions.
“I an proud of us not only today, but across the season.’’
In the absence of big metre winning fullback Tyler Peckham-Harris, backmen Hayden Molkentien and Caleb Jackson played well.
Both shared the fullback role and came up trumps after coach Harris challenged them to try and match the deeds of Peckham-Harris.
Ipswich could not have started better with three tries - by Caleb Jackson, Tevita Holaafolau and Thomas Yarrow - in the first 10 minutes.
Today at Bishop Park, Souths Logan dummy half Mozer scored two tries, created another and generally ran proceedings as his Magpies rattled up a 28-nil lead.
But Norths found their mojo to score 18 unanswered points and with 20 minutes to play the match hung in the balance before Souths Logan won 38-18.
Ultimately it was a match which would have displeased both coaches, Karmichael Hunt (Magpies) and Shane Boyd (Norths) given the mistakes which flowed.
It seemed unbelievable that Souths were a 28 point better side than Norths, but that was the scoreline as edge forward Nat Tangimataiti and Chris Faagutu swept forward off the back of Mozer.
But with improved ball control and field position, Norths found their front foot as five-eight Karl Oloapu started impacting the match behind gritty prop Tahrell Feavai, interchange forward Ethan Jones and a willing Will Curran.
Both teams will be happy the match is behind them as they prepare for the semi-final in two weeks.
On the Gold Coast, Tweed finished with a win 26-24 after two tries in four minutes by Michael Roberts and Josh Lynn seemed to put the result to bed.
But Burleigh closed in after Joseph Shannon and Isaiah Fagalilo scored and it was game on for the last 14 minutes.
“Good to finish on a positive note,’’ said Seagulls coach Tim Maccan.
“As a collective group they got better as the season progressed.’’
For the second successive match Eli Tuli had a great game in the middle, while edge forward Will Taylor and Michael Roberts at fullback shone.
Tuli is a terrific talent. A Marsden SHS alumni, he is tough, but he is a natural footballer with agility and courage.
Taylor, who is from the Northern Rivers, had a big Meninga Cup campaign and was one of the finds of the competition while Roberts was Mr Natural at fullback and showed his class.
Burleigh coach Michael Witt said his team had a disappointing season.
“We had a poor season and very much have a schoolboy mentality at the moment. We are still trying to learn how to play senior footie and unfortunately it did not click.’’
At Kougari Oval, Wynnum Manly coach Jesse Maclean said it was great to finish the season on a win.
“We are disappointed with how the season panned out, but we had a crack,’’ Maclean said.
Big Felix Faatili and his hooker Ayden Hoad were both really good for the Seagulls, while prop Ryan Jackson was “back to his normal self’’.
Redcliffe coach Jamie Floss said the Dolphins have Wynnum too big a start.
“We came home pretty strongly, but made some crucial errors close to the line and did not get away with the win like last week,’’ Floss said.
Floss said his team learnt they could not afford to give opponents a good lead and that it was too hard playing catch-up footy.
Dolphins middle forward Jacob Laban was excellent playing 80 minutes, as was work-a-hoilc Drew Timms and half Naytan Iselin-Jansen.
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