BRL pre-season Round 3 results

STRUDDYS BRL PRE-SEASON ROUND 3

EASTS TIGERS 20 (Jack Joass, Brandon Downey, Brent Warr, Leon Ellia-Nuikore tries; Jack Joass, Brandon Downey goals) def LOGAN BROTHERS 12 (Ihaka Watene, Les Aumua tries; Joshua Te Amo 2 goals) at Tapout Energy Stadium

REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 40 (Kyle Van Klaveran 2, Glen Ellis, Josh Behag, Ashley Harawira, Tom Geraghty, Marty Hatfield tries; Alex Bishop 6 goals) def WYNNUM MANLY REDLAND CITY 0

NORMANBY HOUNDS 16 (Kylan Lovai, Joseph Seeto, Matthew Currie tries; Oliver Olds 2 goals) def WEST BRISBANE PANTHERS 10 (Kyran Tanuvasa, John Matters tries; Troyden Watene goal) at Kev McKell Oval

VALLEY DIEHARDS 30 (Sean Yorston 2, Ben Holzapfel, Michael Bishay, Jordan Smith, Tuhulu Isileli-Foou tries; Michael Bishay 2, Ben Holzapfel goals) def GATERS 24 (Aaron Corbyn 2, Matt Lennon, Nathan Turner, Joe Bond tries; Kieran Turner 2 goals) at South Pine Sporting Complex

CARINA 18 (Tom Metcalfe, Brett Ferguson, David Samson tries; Isaac Kaufmann 3 goals) def JETS 0 at Les Williams Oval

FULL POINTS TABLE and NEXT WEEK'S GAMES FURTHER BELOW

Dolphins to meet Valleys in pre-season final

By Ethan James

Redcliffe and Valleys will go head-to-head at Bishop Park next Saturday in the final of the Brisbane Rugby League Struddys Sports pre-season competition.

The Dolphins and Diehards secured first and second place respectively with wins at the weekend.

With prior results falling their way, Valleys only required a draw to book their spot in the decider.

However they got there entirely on their merits, defeating Gaters 30-24 to go three-from-three in the regular rounds.

Meanwhile, Redcliffe were at their clinical best at Kougari Oval, disposing of Wynnum Manly Redland City 40-0.

Not surprisingly, coach Daniel Green was most impressed with the watertight defence in testing conditions.

“I’m a very defence-orientated coach and that aspect of our game was outstanding,” he said.

“Even though we won last weekend, our defence and line speed wasn’t as good as our opposition West, so that was our focus at training during the week.

“Discipline and defensive attitude – if you have those two things right, you’ll win more games than you’ll lose. “

The Redcliffe tackling was at times brutal.

They hunted in packs, picking off Wynnum Manly’s one out runners and forcing their opposition into repeated errors.

Both teams were thrown a curve ball before the match, with kick-off delayed by thirty minutes due to a torrential thunderstorm that passed over South-East Queensland.

“It effected our preparation a little bit but we adapted and it was our ball control was what won it for us, I think we completed 11 from 13 sets in the second half,” Green said.

Ahead 16-nil at halftime, the Dolphins posted four tries in the second half – centre Kyle van Klaveran picked up a double.

Green was forced to move halfback John Brady to hooker after Jordan Mitchell suffered a dislocated elbow.

The former Dolphin, who made 59 first grade appearances for the club, said the squad had earmarked the Struddys Sports pre-season trophy as an early goal.

“We spoke about that (making the final) before the game, as a little reward for our efforts before the season.”

“I don’t think it’s crazy to say you want to win everything you compete for as a player and as a coach.”

In other results, Easts defeated Logan Brothers 20-12 at an almost-underwater Tapout Energy Stadium, while the Tigers other affiliate Carina got past Ipswich 18-0.

Normanby secured their first win of the pre-season competition with a tight 18-10 result over West Brisbane Panthers.

Follow the BRL on Facebook at facebook.com/BrisbaneRugbyLeague and on Twitter at twitter.com/BrisRugbyLeague

 

NEXT WEEK’S GAMES - FINALS

Brisbane Rugby League A Grade official season launch will take place at 3pm.