Steaks off menu as Jets remain at home

The Ipswich Jets won’t be eating one of Central Queensland’s best steaks this weekend.

JETS BUZZ

ROCKHAMPTON may be the beef capital of Australia but the Ipswich Jets won't be eating one of Central Queensland's best steaks this weekend.

The Queensland Rugby League has made the decision to suspend the Intrust Super Cup until the middle of the year and allow players to stay at home.

All teams will stay fixed on round one's positives for a while.

The Jets were strong but didn't get the result against Townsville.

Jets player's player Rory Humphreys had an exceptional 80 minutes after losing his left edge backrower Tyler Coburn to a head knock after 15.

Humphreys has moved into the forwards this year and is enjoying the challenge.

"I see my role as just securing that right edge and making sure we are working hard," Humpreys said.

"We just gave the Blackhawks momentum with penalties and that's an easy out to march them down the field and give them good ball sets.

"When we play again we will just be staying level headed and not releasing the pressure."

 

Ipswich Jets V Townsville Blackhawks Intrust Super Cup reugby league played at North Ipswich Reserve on Saturday. Jayden Connors celebrates scoring a try.

Jets coach Keiron Lander was happy with his side.

"I thought our defence was exceptional,'' Lander said.

"We had good contact the whole game and I only used five interchanges so we ran the game out well.

"What we have to do now is wait and see and just take advice from the experts and the QRL about when we can play again.

"I am unsure what 2020 is going to look like for the Intrust Super Cup."

Positive start

THE Jets Mal Meninga side started 2020 with a 38-18 win over Townsville.

The Jets led 16-10 at halftime. The Jets running game shone with eight line breaks while in defence they only missed 26 tackles.

Coach Michael Armstrong was happy but looking ahead.

"We were smaller and more mobile than the Blackhawks who were massive but we tackled really well,'' Armstrong said.

"Our front row did a great job against much bigger men.

"This week the challenge would have been travel. Rockhampton was going to be a new experience for a lot of guys and we just had to be professional and go up there and do our job again."

In the Colts competition, Brendon Marshall had a tough day out with his team losing 54-0 to Townsville.

"The first 10 minutes was really positive. I thought our defence was better than the score indicated,'' Marshall said.

"Our lock Kyle Peterson was great and tried really hard all game."

Best Ipswich link

THE football world is not a massive one. There is always a link to Ipswich somewhere.

Bulldogs general manager Steve Price said last week in our interview that Roger Best was the gun player from his generation growing up when it came to Ipswich.

I did not know the name so did some investigating.

Best played for Queensland under 17 in 1991. Queensland won 34-14 and who should get two tries but current Broncos' coach Anthony Seibold.

I asked Seibold what he could remember.

"Best was a great second rower, we had a good generation of players that cohort,'' Seibold said.

"You know he's Bradman Best's dad that plays for the Knights."

Another piece of the puzzle came together. I had watched Bradman play for NSW under 18 the past two years and I remembered him scoring a massive try for NSW in 2016 to break Queensland hearts in Under 16.

Albert Hopoate ran it from the dead ball line after a Queensland drop goal attempt and Best supported on the outside to score the winner 22-16.

Bradman made his NRL debut for the Knights last season against the Tigers and played three games before the end of the season at only 19.

Knights' Head of Football Brian Canavan came to my rescue with a contact number.

"Yeah grew up in Ipswich, dad worked in mines so Ipswich was a natural place for us to head, mum is still there at Pine Mountain," Best recalled.

"I went to Raceview and Bremer High, then down to Manly after the Australian School Boys tour for 1992.

"I had some injuries and then that Manly backrow became impossible to crack with Steve Menzies, Daniel Gartner, Owen Cunningham and Nik Kosef, add in Ian Roberts and Dave Gillespie and I played five years in the lower grades.

"I went to London for two years and played there and had a great time in England."

I asked about Steve Price.

"It was nice of Pricey to mention me. I see him around every now and again and he always says hello."

Knights' Bradman Best is recovering from an operation now and will be good to return in round eight for the Knights.

"Hopefully he's had all his injuries and now it's a smooth run, he can play some football uninterrupted."

The Jets and Knights are in the football business together and Best felt positive that his son is linked to dad's hometown.

"I think it's a great move,'' he said.

"A lot of great kids come out of Ipswich and I can only see it being a positive for the Knights and Ipswich."

New 'COJ' club

THE Jets could start a new club called COJ - the Children of Jets. We have had Caslick, Lacey, Zillman, Parcell Teevan and now Coburn.

Dan Coburn played a record 258 games for the Jets and the third most game in Intrust Super Cup history.

Last Saturday against the Blackhawks Tyler played his first game of Intrust Super Cup for the Jets after two years in the Colts competition.

 

Round 16 - JETSvPHINS

Two hundred and ninety-four Jets players separate the father and son. Coburn will be Jet number 604.

Coburn's debut didn't go to plan with the young second rower suffering a head knock after 15 minutes and having to leave the field.

In his time on the field Coburn made nine tackles and had zero missed tackles.

Coburn reflected on his day.

"It was disappointing,'' he said.

"I was excited and then to get knocked out is a bit anti-climactic.

"The pace and physicality of it was more than Colts games but I had three touches and I thought I was handling it. It was no score yet so our defence was strong.

"I am very grateful to Lander and the Jets, I think at 19 I don't play Intrust Super Cup for any other team."

Jet number 605 Kennan Yorston was on debut for the Jets but has played three games for the Tigers in 2019.

Yorston played 18 minutes off the bench coming on for Shar Walden after 65 minutes.

"Townsville are always the benchmark so I think we did really well. It was really positive," Yorston said.

"Lander has been trying to get me to Ipswich for a while but it was a big move, I am very grateful to Ipswich.

"I didn't know I was playing until Saturday, Keiron rang on Friday and said just be ready to go.

"I just prepared like I was going to play all week and then Lander didn't make too many interchanges so I was sitting there ready for a while."

Cooper's stat

THREE Jets forwards played 80 minutes against the Blackhawks with Nat Neale, Rory Humphreys and Kierran Moseley all going the distance.

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