Round 16 of the In Safe Hands Cup will have tipsters scratching their heads with three contests that could go either way.
Logan Brothers will host the West Brisbane Panthers at Civic Park in an intriguing match, as both sides shared the points in their last outing – a 16-16 draw at Kev McKell.
Defending premiers Redcliffe will take on last year’s minor premiers Wynnum Manly at Dolphin Oval, with both sides sitting at one and two respectively on the ladder.
Easts Tigers take on the Jets, who are one point below them on a cluttered table.
Logan Brothers have found form recently and have two wins and a draw from their past four outings. The draw was against the Panthers who also played out a draw two weeks ago against Easts.
However, the Panthers are coming off a loss to the Diehards last week and sit in outright third on the ladder.
With the competition coming to the pointy end of the season and a top five finals format, the Panthers will look to consolidate their position to have a second chance option come the semi-finals.
While Logan Brothers are adrift of the main group on the ladder; the form they have put on the park of late suggests they could also be there come Week 1 of the finals on August 26.
Halves LJ Waddups and Conner Toia have been driving their mistake-free pack up the middle, led by the explosive Reece Summer. Leon Panapa continues to break the line at the right moment, giving his back three scoring opportunities, while the bench is bringing continued pressure to the opposition.
The Panthers – who started the In Safe Hands Cup season with five straight wins – have struggled to find that form consistently. They have a loss and two draws and have to go back to Round 11 for their last win against the Jets.
There is no doubting the talent in the Panthers 17 and it is only a matter of time before they have that early season mojo return.
Redcliffe will be coming off a bye to take on the Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Dolphin Oval tomorrow afternoon.
Both of these sides will not play each other again until finals time, so both coaches will be chasing a win to take confidence in to the August finals series. With the talent that both clubs have and with so much at stake, this shapes as a beauty.
With two large mobile packs, both starting or coming off the bench, and two backlines that have plenty of points in the them, it will be well worth a trip to Dolphin Oval to see a quality game.
On Sunday, the Tigers will be at home to Ipswich and both sides are playing unpredictable football. While this is not uncommon for the Jets, the Tigers inconsistent form of late must be a concern to coach David Krause.
However, he will take some confidence into this clash with the Jets as the last time they came together, the Tigers blew the Jets off the tarmac 50-10.
The Jets have struggled to put the same squad on the park for the majority of the season, and coach Mark Bishop has little time to work with.
While this could be said of all the BRL sides in the In Safe Hands Cup, the style of footy the Jets play takes time to flourish.
They put on a defensive masterclass in the first half against Valleys in Laidley to finish off the Diehards in the second half.
In Safe Hands Cup - Round 16 (July 15 – 16) team lists
Logan Brothers v West Brisbane Panthers at Civic Park on Saturday, July 15 – 3pm
Live Stream
Logan Brothers
1. Paul Rokolati 2. Kieran Battelley 3. Chris Tauelangi 4. Matt Parata 5. Evander Cummins 6. Conner Toia 7. LJ Waddups 8. Reece Summer 9. Jack Walters 10. Jordan Mago 11. Darcy Sims 12. Leon Panapa 13. Jack Anderson 14. Kalolo Saitaua 15. Ben Faulkner 16. Ty Etimani 17. Otu Talakai
Coach: Steven Bretherton
West Brisbane Panthers
1. Adam Wickins 2. Jake Dornan 3. Shaun Tupou 4. Kennedy Pettyborne 5. Jamie Olds 6. Kane Zalewski 7. Luke Straser 8. Erik Koelbel 9. Aaron Watson 10. Ethan Marrinan 11. Ashley Harawira 12. James Sharkie 13. Troy Swift 14. Dominic Biondi 15. Jarrod Blanke 16. Josh Afoa 17. Mitchell Hallinan
Coach: Wayne Weekes
Redcliffe Dolphins v Wynnum Manly Seagulls at Dolphin Oval Saturday, July 15 – 5.15pm
Redcliffe Dolphins
1. Kyle Van Klaveren 2. Josh Beehag 3. Sonny Munroe 4. Sam Leach 5. Shaun Rees 6. Mitch Wilson 7. Hayden Hansen 8. Samson Graham 9. Sheldon Pitama 10. Ben King 22. Brandon Lee 12. Nick Ritter 13. Agassi Stowers 14. Corban Daniels 15. Josh Rudolph 16. Elliott Thompson 17. Rinsma Saueha
Coach: Daniel Green
Wynnum Manly Seagulls
1. Benaiah Bowie 2. Christian Mika 3. Mitchell Buckett 4. Mitchell McMillan 5. Steven Tatipata 6. Mitchell Ensby 7. Ben Cronin 8. Josh Hoffman 9. Corey Davis 10. Billy Solah 11. Kelly Tate 12. Brad Mana 13. Andrew Clayton 14. Jacob Paulo 15. Semisi Ahoafi 16. Te Rore Puke 17. Carlos Smith
Coach: Ron Troutman
Easts Tigers v Ipswich Jets at Suzuki Stadium Sunday, July 16 - 1pm
Easts Tigers
1. Brandon Downey 2. Michael Pouhila 3. Leon Ellia-Niukore 4. Brett Ferguson 5. David McKenna 6. Adrian Henley 7. Rex Johnson 8. Gene Ropoama 9. Charles Burchell 10. Andrew Thompson 11. Michael Egan 12. Tekina Vailea 13. Luke Lavelle 14. Brandon George 15. Liufau Hala 16. Anton Iaria 17. Matt Richards
Coach: David Krause
Ipswich Jets
1. Jayden Connors 2. Bernard Mosby 3. Brendon Marshall 4. Raymond Baira 5. Tu’u Maori 6. Chastyn Bowen 7. Mikaere Beattie 8. Benjamin Hetra 9. Peter Whittaker 10. Rowan Winterfield 11. Hugh Sedger 12. Nathan Gaulton 13. Denzel King 14. Warren Glare 15. Phillip Komboi 16. Rendy Mam-Gibuma 17. Jesse Miles
Coach: Mark Bishop
Valleys Diehards – bye
