Norths Devils notched their first Intrust Super Cup win for season 2017 with a strong victory over defending premiers Burleigh Bears at Pizzey Park on yesterday afternoon.
After being narrowly defeated by Townsville in the opening round, Norths never trailed in a strong 26-12 win which sees the Devils climb into the top six.
The Devils shot out to an early 10-point lead with tries to winger Dane Chang and prop James Taylor and didn’t allow the margin to close to more than six points for the remainder of the game.
Bears centre Connor Broadhurst narrowed the gap to a converted try shortly before halftime, before a Delouise Hoeter try and conversion from Luke Pollock extended the Devils advantage to 12 points.
Two tries in the space of 10 minutes for Devils winger Michael Lucas put the game beyond the defending premiers with a late consolation four-pointer to Lorenzo Ma’afu reducing the final margin to 14 points.
Head coach Mark Gliddon was particularly pleased with his side’s work rate without the ball.
“Playing the premiers at their home ground where they’ve been very successful in the past is never easy. It was a hot afternoon, but we defended very well which was the most pleasing part,” he said.
“We’ve worked a lot on defence in the off-season. We’ve changed the way we’ve defend in a couple of different areas and I think it’s working well for us.
“We have little defensive goals each week and we achieved them.”
The victory capped off a memorable afternoon for Norths whose Mal Meninga Cup, FOGS Under 20s and Brisbane Rugby League affiliate sides all recorded victories earlier in the afternoon.
After trailing 16-4 at the break, the Devils Under 18 (Mal Meninga Cup) side mounted a spirited comeback to snatch a 28-26 victory while the Under 20s side secured a 22-10 win over Burleigh.
The Devils return to Bishop Park next Sunday afternoon to host Ipswich Jets who will enter the clash on the back of an entertaining 39-26 defeat to the Blackhawks.
“When you play Ipswich you expect the unexpected. They play a style of footy that they’re very good at and it’s very hard to defend against,” Gliddon said.
“We’re looking forward to challenge and we’ll need to be at our best to beat them because they’re a good footy team.”
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
NORTHS DEVILS 26 (Michael Lucas 2, Dane Chang, James Taylor, Delouise Hoeter tries; Luke Pollock 3 goals) def BURLEIGH BEARS 14 (Connor Broadhurst, Oliver Regan, Lorenzo Ma’afu tries; Tyler Cornish goal) at Pizzey Park.
