NORTHERN PRIDE v REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS
Barlow Park on Saturday, April 11 – 5.30pm
Referee: Tim Rutherford
Head-to-Head: Pride 13 Redcliffe 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #PRIDEvPHINS
Although still winless going into this Round 6 match, last weekend the Pride showed enough positive signs against Ipswich to convince coach Joe O’Callaghan the tide was turning for the club. He will be hoping for a similarly committed showing from his charges for this important game against Redcliffe, who have also struggled in the early stages of the season.
The Dolphins posted a strong 44-20 win over Norths in Round 4, but fell back into bad habits in their loss to the Bears last weekend. For this match, coach Troy Lindsay has made two changes, with Aaron Whitchurch in for Josh Beehag and Jon Green named at prop for Brett Coutts.
Former Logan junior Codey Kennedy will make his debut for the Pride on the wing, coming in for veteran Semi Tadulala. Kennedy joined the Pride in the pre-season after flying up for the open trial and has been performing well for Ivanhoes in the local competition. He is the new face in the side, with the only other changes being a reshuffle of the forward pack.
In the home side’s favour, the Pride have won the past 12 games between these two teams with Redcliffe's only win at Barlow Park back in 2008.
CQ CAPRAS v MACKAY CUTTERS
Browne Park on Saturday, April 11 – 6pm
Referee: Nick Pelgrave
Head-to-Head: Mackay 10 Central 4
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #CQCvMC
Mackay Cutters have continued to find ways to win and a late field goal from Liam Taylor was enough to see them claim their fourth in a row last weekend. They will be full of confidence heading into this weekend’s match against a Capras side who have had an extra week to stew on their heavy Round 4 loss to Townsville.
For this weekend’s match, Capras coach Jason Hetherington will trial youngster Mark Johnstone at halfback following the departure of first-choice No.7 Russ Aitken. Aitken, who the club had hoped would be able to provide the Capras' backline with some extra spark and experience, was released from his contract last week due to personal reasons.
Other changes see Peter Gallen return at prop for Nathan Young, while Ray Ebsworth is on the wing for Ha’ofanga Rabakewa who has suspected broken ribs. Gerrard Tema has been named for Josh Johnston despite a knee injury, but will be reassessed before the game.
For the Cutters, Josh Osborne moves to an extended bench with 128kg prop Pulou Vaituutuu into the starting side. In milestone news, Cutters halfback Taylor requires only one more goal to bring up 200 for Mackay.
WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS v PNG HUNTERS
BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday, April 12 – 1.40pm* (Live on Channel 9)
Referee: Peter Gough
Head-to-Head: Wynnum 1 PNG 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #WYNvPNG
Both teams are coming into this game having lost their Round 5 matches in differing circumstances. Wynnum Manly raced to an early lead against the top-of-the-table Blackhawks last weekend, but fell off the pace in the second half to go down 28-16 after a fairly even tussle.
Despite scoring the opening try of the match, the Hunters were effectively shut out of their game against the Sunshine Coast last weekend – with their own errors contributing just as much to the loss as the good performance from the Falcons.
For this match at BMD Kougari Oval, coach Michael Marum has made three changes to his line-up, with Adam Korave and Jay Jay Garrison out of the side. Ase Boas has moved to an extended bench, while in a big boost, Noel Zeming is set to return at centre. New faces David Lapua and John Ragi have been named on the bench.
The Seagulls however have named an unchanged line-up, with the only change being a reshuffle in the backline with Daniel Ogden moving back to fullback with Greg Eden on the wing. The Hunters have today also had a number of players named in a 29-member squad for the upcoming Pacific Test against Fiji in May.
SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES v TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS
Davies Park on Sunday, April 12 – 2pm
Referee: Tyson Brough
Head-to-Head: First Game
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #SLMvTSVB
Livestream: Blackhawks Livestream
A tough ask awaits the Magpies this weekend at Davies Park. Not only are they coming off a 52-0 defeat at the hands of Easts, but now they must dust themselves off to play the Intrust Super Cup’s most dangerous attacking team.
Townsville Blackhawks lead the competition after five rounds, having posted an impressive 184 points in their opening five games. That works out to be an average of nearly 37 points per match, an impressive statistic in any rugby league competition.
At this stage, the Blackhawks look likely to have only one change to the side that beat Wynnum Manly last weekend, with Chris McLean coming back in for Corey Jensen.
The Blackhawks’ impressive forward pack includes boom Cowboys young gun Kelepi Tanginoa and the in-form Rhyse Martin. It has been a good week already for Martin, who was today named in the Papua New Guinea squad to play Fiji in next month’s Test match on the Gold Coast. For the Magpies, Travis Waddell is serving a one-match suspension for a shoulder charge and will miss the home game.
Interestingly, Souths Logan coach Josh Hannay played for both previous Townsville-based cup teams – Stingers and Young Guns. He played three games for Townsville Stingers in 2008, and 13 games for the Young Guns in 2005/06.
BURLEIGH BEARS v EASTS TIGERS
Pizzey Park on Sunday, April 12 - 2pm
Referee: Chris Anderson
Head-to-Head: Burleigh 21 Easts 17 Drawn 2
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #BEARSvTIGES
Livestream: TigerTV
Easts will go into Sunday’s match without talented forward Dean Britt, who is serving a one-match suspension for striking. Britt is set to be replaced by Ashley Little, a tough competitor who coach Craig Ingebrigtsen rates highly.
In other changes, Eddie Tautali comes into the backline for the injured Shane Neumann. There may yet be another backline reshuffle, with last weekend’s XXXX man of the match Cameron Munster an unlikely starter for the Tigers.
Easts climbed into fourth spot on the back of last weekend’s impressive 52-0 thumping of the Souths Logan Magpies. However, they will meet a tough and confident opponent this weekend in the form of Jim Lenihan’s rejuvenated Bears.
Burleigh produced a near faultless first-half performance last weekend to set up a 32-18 victory over the Dolphins at Redcliffe. The Bears stand on the verge of winning four in a row for the first time since 2006-07.
NORTHS DEVILS v IPSWICH JETS
Bishop Park on Sunday, April 12 – 2.30pm
Referee: Nick Morel
Head-to-Head: Norths 23 Ipswich 12 Drawn 2
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #DEVILSvJETS
Ipswich faces a stern test this weekend after having to make a staggering 130 more tackles than the Northern Pride last weekend. The Jets somehow managed to scrape home with a 26-22 victory on a heavy track, but it remains to be seen just how much it took out of the Ipswich players.
Norths will look to expose the leg-weary Jets in Sunday’s Round 6 Bishop Park clash. Norths were however involved in a physical contest of their own last weekend, narrowly going down 13-12 to the Mackay Cutters in Mackay.
The third-straight loss saw the Devils slide to 10th spot on the Intrust Super Cup ladder, a far cry from the lofty second spot they held after Round 2. In the Devils’ favour is their impressive recent record over the Jets, who have won only one of the past six games between the clubs – last year at Bishop Park.
In milestone news, Devils coach Mark Gliddon will take charge of an Intrust Super Cup outfit for the 50th time, while Ipswich’s premier attacking weapon Marmin Barba requires four points to bring up 200 for the Jets and seven points to bring up 250 in the Cup. It will also be halfback Dane Phillips’ 50th game for Ipswich.
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS v SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS
Piggabeen Sports Complex on Sunday, April 12 – 3pm
Referee: Jarrod Cole
Head-to-Head: Tweed 10 Sunshine Coast 2
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #THSvSCF
The Falcons put in a good performance to beat PNG last week and will travel to Piggabeen with the goal of putting back-to-back wins together for the first time since the last game of the 2012 season and the first of 2013.
Sunshine Coast have struggled to win away from home (losing their past 23 away games) – but this is a different outfit and boosted with some experienced NRL names, they will be confident breaking this drought.
Their opponents the Seagulls are fresh from a bye and would have used the time to address the shortcomings exposed by PNG in their Round 4 match. The Seagulls trailed 34-0 at halftime, but fought back to ‘win’ the second half with the final scoreline 38-10.
For the Falcons, Hymel Hunt moves to centre for Callum Klein, while Kenny Bromwich is named to start. Jay Lobwein comes onto the bench. Hooker Slade Griffin will miss the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury in the win over the Hunters. This is unfortunately his third such injury in four years.
For the Seagulls, Titan Matt Srama has been named to start at hooker, while their only other change sees Jai Ingram on to the bench with Luke Dumas the player to miss out.
