• TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS v IPSWICH JETS
Saturday 15 August, Bill Lewis Oval, Charters Towers
Townsville Blackhawks 36 (Kyle Feldt 2, Jahrome Hughes, Robert Lui, Michael Parker-Walshe, Kelepi Tanginoa, Lorenzo Ma’afu tries; Kyle Feldt 2, Robert Lui 2 goals) def Ipswich Jets 28 (Marmin Barba 2, Dane Phillips, Billy McConnachie tries; Carlin Anderson 6 goals) at Bill Lewis Oval, Charters Towers.
A thrilling late surge has maintained the momentum of the Townsville Blackhawks’ push to win the Intrust Super Cup minor premiership in their debut year following the weekend’s thrilling 36-28 win over the Ipswich Jets in Charters Towers. The Round 23 match in Gold City was the standout fixture of the competition’s “Get in the Game” Country week celebrations, with all seven matches played in towns and cities outside of the regular centres in which teams are based. In front of a healthy crown at Charters Towers’ Bill Lewis Oval the Blackhawks came from behind to down the Jets – who led 18-0 at one stage – with North Queensland Toyota Cowboys-contracted pair Robert Lui and Kyle Feldt scoring late, match-sealing tries. The pair also kicked two conversions apiece, while fellow Cowboys player Kelepi Tanginoa also crossed the stripe. The win was atonement for a Blackhawks’ loss to the Jets earlier in the season, with the Townsville-based side now on 39 points atop the Instrust Super Cup ladder with 17 wins, three losses and a draw from 21 matches. The Jets and the PNG Hunters (twice) are the only teams in the competition to have defeated the Blackhawks. With just two rounds of matches remaining, the Blackhawks can finish no lower than second, with the PNG Hunters in the same boat, but occupying second on the ladder due to an inferior for-and-against record. Townsville’s next opponent is the Sunshine Coast Falcons.
• NORTHS DEVILS v MACKAY CUTTERS
Saturday 15 August, Dalby Leagues Ground, Dalby
Norths Devils 40 (Rogan Dean 2, Dylan Smith 2, Michael Lucas, Joel Bailey, Dan Murphy tries; Liam Tyson 6 goals) def Mackay Cutters 28 (Sam Clune 2, Buchanan Rawhiti, Aleki Falepaini, Tyson Martin tries; Liam Taylor 4 goals) at Dalby Leagues Ground, Dalby.
The Mackay Cutters will have to rely on mathematics and good fortune to make the 2015 Intrust Super Cup finals following a lack-lustre 40-28 loss to Norths Devils at Dalby on the weekend. The seven-tries-to-four-result to the second-last Devils means the Cutters (10 wins, 11 losses) can’t finish higher than on 28 points with two matches remaining. Team No. 6 at the moment – the Redcliffe Dolphins – is on 28 points. The Cutters next take on the Hunters at Stadium Mackay for Round 24.
• REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS v NORTHERN PRIDE
Sunday, 16 August, Callendar Park, Innisfail
Redcliffe Dolphins 34 (Josh Beehag 2, Curtis Johnston 2, John Brady, Jon Green tries; Luke Capewell 5 goals) def Northern Pride 26 (Sam Obst 3, Linc Port, Jordan Biondi-Odo tries; Jordon Biondi-Odo 2, Linc Port goals) at Callendar Park, Innisfail.
The Northern Pride were defeated by eight points in a high-scoring affair in Innisfail on Sunday, but are still comfortably in the top six. The Redcliffe Dolphins got the chocolates in North Queensland but the Pride were helped by the Cutters’ loss to Norths and remain in the finals hunts on 28 points (12 wins, nine losses. Their next challenge is a Cape York showdown against the Devils in Bamaga.
OTHER RESULTS:
• SATURDAY, 15 AUGUST
Tweed Heads Seagulls 20 (Ali Grant 2, Nathanael Barnes, Blake Anderson tries; Jamal Fogarty 2 goals) def CQ Capras 16 (Jake Ainsworth, Marco Delapena, Dan Randall tries; Matt Minto, Ian Webster goals) at Salter Oval, Bundaberg.
Easts Tigers 20 (Shane Neumann, Brandon Downey, Brentt Warr, Dwayne Craft tries; Shaun Nona 2 goals) def Souths Logan Magpies 18 (Scott Doyle, Jack Joass tries; Scott Doyle 5 goals) at Blackall Showgrounds.
• SUNDAY, 16 AUGUST
Burleigh Bears 18 (Chad Redman, Hayden Schwass, Ayden Lee tries; Kevin Gordon 3 goals) def Sunshine Coast Falcons 16 (Rowan Klein, David Oakes, Billy Brittain tries; David Oakes, Ryan Hansen goals) at Sullivan Oval, Stanthorpe.
PNG Hunters 36 (Kato Ottio 2, Stargroth Amean, Israel Eliab, Adam Korave, Willie Minoga tries; Ase Boas 6 goals) def Wynnum Manly Seagulls 13 (Brendon Gibb, Stephen Coombe tries; Mathew Seamark 2 goals; Mathew Seamark field goal) at Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby.
