The Queensland Under 18 side have gone down to an impressive New South Wales side who were able to keep the home side scoreless on their way to a 26-0 victory.
In damp conditions, Queensland were their own worst enemy all night, with multiple errors cruelling any chance of them applying any pressure on their opposition.
Things started in the worst possible fashion with Queensland dropping the ball from the kick-off – and unfortunately for the home side – that set the tone for the rest of the evening.
The visitors scored from that error and coach Brad Fittler would be please that his side made every opportunity count.
Queensland struggled to defence their errors as well – while almost all of what NSW touched turned to gold.
They regathered kicks off rebounds, turned possible fumbles in to tries – but most of all – defended strongly to prevent the Queenlanders from scoring.
The young Maroons did go close a few times however, with David Fauid coming close on his wing a number of times – including being held up over the line.
He and fullback Corey Allan were perhaps the strongest performers for a Queensland side who were constantly on the back foot despite their best efforts.
Fauid’s no-try was one of the best passages for play for the Queensland side all night – but it came way too late in the match with less than 20 minutes to go.
They followed up that effort by earning a line drop-out – but dropped the ball while attacking the NSW line to again give up their point-scoring chance.
In the end, NSW were able to make the most of all of their chances while Queensland - who put in a committed effort right until the end of the game - were left to rue to cost of basic errors.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
Under 18 NSW 26 (Zac Lomax 2, Samuel Radovu, Tui Afualo, Ryan Papenhuyzen, Isaac Lumelume tries; Zac Lomax goal) def Queensland Under 18 0 at Suncorp Stadium
