2024 FNQRL finals: Catch all the week one replays on KommunityTV

Atherton’s finals fairytale continues into week two while one of the great defensive displays from the Seahawks went unrewarded. Catch every minute from the first round of FNQRL finals here.

Atherton’s fairytale comeback from the brink of collapse to the finals will continue into the second round after toppling Cairns Kangaroos in Saturday night’s second minor semi-final showdown.

Makeshift Lachlan West scored a double and laid a critical trysaving cover tackle in the final 10 minutes to build and then preserve an 18-8 lead, booking his side a date with Innisfail in next week’s major semi-final.

It was heartbreak for the 2014 champion Kangaroos, whose premiership drought hit its 10th season as players collapsed to the ground on full-time.

Kangaroos v Atherton (A Grade)

Atherton simply had more to play for.

The club had been given 24 hours to prevent forfeiting its A Grade season last year but from that adversity has emerged an outfit with the potential to make history.

The Roosters fell behind in the seventh minute but hit back five minutes later through five-eighth Jhidan Dikes and never relinquished the lead again.

It was finals football at its best as the committed Roosters rode a wave of emotion to find answers for every challenge thrown at them.

West, who moved to fullback after starting in the centres, can celebrate as hard as any for his definitive role in Atherton’s finals push.

The rangy outside back weaved between four defenders on a one-out blindside hit-up to score his first of the day, opening a 14-4 buffer.

His second, in the 61st minute, was even better.

West took another one-out hit-up on the goalline and muscled through the defensive attention of five Kangaroos to find a blade of grass and score.

ATHERTON 18 (J Dikes, W Walker, L West 2 tries; Walker goal) def. KANGAROOS 8 (M Douthat, J Pearson)

Innisfail v Yarrabah (A Grade)

Yarrabah’s Far North Queensland Rugby League A Grade season is over but the Seahawks defended like champions in a 28-0 minor semi-final defeat to Innisfail.

Innisfail was denied on the tryline a staggering eight times as the Seahawks swarmed to the ball with their backs against the wall in the sudden-death eliminator on Saturday night.

That Innisfail ended the match with 28 points was testament to the weight of possession and territory the finals No.3 seed enjoyed at Smithfield Sporting Complex.

Halfback Michael Morton top-scored with 18 points via a try and six goals, having reached for the kicking tee for three penalty goals as the desperate No.6 seeds Seahawks frustrated the semi-final favourites at every turn.

Morton was a worthy nominee for player of the match honours after creating two of Innisfail’s four tries with his boot, then twisting the knife with a near-flawless goalkicking performance.

Morton missed one shot at goal all evening; his sole miss coming from the extreme right corner of the field.

Innisfail leaned heavily on its Queensland Cup experienced middle forwards Jaymon Moore and Lata Fakalelu, who could have scored five tries between them if not for the Seahawks’ incredible work on the goalline.

The Seahawks will have all off-season to rue a horror opening 10 minutes that left the Yarrabah club chasing the match for 78 minutes.

Yarrabah twice dropped the ball inside 20m in the first six minutes of the match to fall behind 12-0 early but rallied to concede just two penalty goals in the next 55 minutes of the match.

Two late tries, plus a third Morton penalty, in the final 20 minutes sealed Innisfail’s progression to the next round of finals.

The Leprechauns may have lost interchange forward Madison Barriball for the season after the No.15 went down clutching his right knee on the stroke of halftime.

The non-contact injury mechanism has raised fears the FNQ Thunder rugby union representative may have torn his ACL, three weeks shy of the grand final.

He was assisted off the field by two trainers.

INNISFAIL 28 (L Fakalelu, M Morton, S Whaleboat, A Kris tries; Morton 6 goals) def. Yarrabah 0

Ivanhoes v Innisfail (Reserves)

Kangaroos v Edmonton (Reserves)

Innisfail v Edmonton (U19)

Mareeba v Tully (U19)

PREVIEW

The hunt for Far North Queensland Rugby League glory will be ignited this weekend as the men’s finals race kicks off in Smithfield.

It will be do-or-die action on Saturday, with six minor semi-finals across the Under-19s, reserve grade and A Grade competitions set for decision.

Check out the full live stream schedule below.

KommunityTV will exclusively live stream every minute of the action across the finals series, kicking off with 10 hours of wall-to-wall coverage in week one of the finals.

While reigning premiers Brothers and the high-flying Ivanhoes put their feet up ahead of next week’s A Grade qualifying final, four teams will battle it out to join them in week two of the finals.

An Innisfail side, who only narrowly missed out on earning the opening week off due to for and against, will clash with a valiant Yarrabah side which won six of its last seven games to qualify for the finals.

In the other A Grade minor semi-final, one of the competitions most improved outfits this season, the Atherton Roosters, will clash with Kangaroos.

Kangaroos enter the finals with plenty of momentum, coming off a six-game win streak, but the Roosters will have confidence knowing they have wht it takes to beat their rivals, winning the only meeting between the two sides earlier this season.

The Under-19s will kick off the semi-finals action from 11am.

Originally published as 2024 FNQRL finals: Catch all the week one replays on KommunityTV