Mackay Cutters seal Queensland Cup title
MACKAY dedicated their Queensland Cup title to young star Alex Elisala, who died in April, with best mate Michael Morgan scoring the crucial try.
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MACKAY have claimed an emotional 27-20 victory over Easts in a thrilling Intrust Super Cup grand final at the North Ipswich Reserve.
The Cutters dedicated the win to young North Queensland Cowboys star Alex Elisala who died in April and it was fitting that his best mate - Mackay centre Michael Morgan - scored the crucial try that put his side in front.
Morgan swooped on a loose ball on the halfway line in the 64th minute and out-sprinted the Tigers defence to dive over in the corner to hand the Cutters a 20-14 buffer.
Easts prop Mitch Garbutt barged over in the 68th minute to score near the posts and set-up a nail-biting finish with the scores locked together at 20-all with just 10 minutes left.
Cutters halfback Matt Minto then calmly slotted a field goal in the 74th minute to edge Mackay in front.
Mackay had to survive several anxious moments with the Tigers deep in attack in the dying minutes, but the Cutters held on grimly to claim their first Intrust Super Cup title.
Cutters centre Kalifa Faifai Loa powered over the tryline in the last minute to seal the win.
The Tigers led 8-0 in the first half before two tries to Cutters winger Bureta Faraimo dragged the North Queenslanders back into the contest.
Easts led 14-10 at halftime but the Cutters had all the momentum and would not be denied.
Mackay's win denied Easts a clean-sweep of the grand finals.
Earlier in the day, Easts won the FOGS Cup reserve grade grand final with a 40-18 victory over Ipswich, while the Tigers also claimed the FOGS Colts Challenge with a 26-16 win over Redcliffe.
Intrust Super Cup grand final:
EASTS 20 (Junior Sa'u 2, Mitch Garbutt try. Cody Walker 4 goals) MACKAY 27 (Bureta Faraimo 2, David Milne, Michael Morgan, Kalifa Faifai Loa tries. Matt Minto, David Milne, Liam Taylor goals. Matt Minto field goal)
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