THE SEQ Poinsettias have claimed the 2013 QRL State Championship title after a high quality carnival, hosted by the Central Division at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.
In a fantastic effort, SEQs other team finished second in the four-team format, taking one match point from the Poinsettias in their clash.
The SEQ teams met in Game One on Saturday, but it was apparent only the Brisbane-based team turned up to play.
The Poinsettias raced to a very handy 26-0 halftime lead on the back of an impressive opening 20 minutes.
However, from that time the representative SEQ side were arguably the better team winning the second half 12-0 for a final 26-12 scoreline.
In the other Saturday game was between Northern and Central. The game saw a solid start, with a late Central try reducing the margin to 18-6 at the break.
The Marlins built a commanding lead in the second term, but a barnstorming finish resulted in a good 28-24 victory for the Central United outfit.
Day One results ensured that the Central v Poinsettias match on Sunday would decide the trophy winner.
An early try gave the local supporters hope of retaining the State title, but even with a glut of possession United could not add further points.
A Nathan Turner try after 20 minutes handed the Poinsettias the lead and they extended this to 124 by the half-time break.
After a scoreless first 20 minutes, a third try looked to have secured the Poinsettias an 184 win.
However a mistake from the kick-off handed Central a good try, but a frustrating final few minutes saw the Poinsettias hold on for a 188 win.
Northern again started strongly for an impressive 6-0lead over SEQ.
It took an intercept to level the scores before the SEQ outfit maintained better field position for an 18-6 margin at halftime.
In a high quality final half of the championships, both teams could add only one try apiece for SEQs eventual winning total of 24-10 over the Marlins.
The final points standings were:
Poinsettias 9
SEQ 6
Central 4
Northern 1
Poinsettias skipper Will McNee accepted the trophy from Central Division Chairman and QRL Director Danny Maguire.
After dominating the Carnival weekend, the SEQ were rewarded with a total of 12 players earning selection in the XXXX Queensland Rangers team to meet NSW Country next month in Lismore.
The team can be viewed here: XXXX Queensland Rangers Team
