Redcliffe bounced back from their disappointing Round 21 loss to outclass Souths Logan 46-6 in front a stellar crowd at Dolphin Oval yesterday.
The home side piled on nine tries to one in an electric display of attacking prowess and resolute defence on the club’s Phins Fun Day.
Redcliffe coach Troy Lindsay praised the turnout from the home supporters.
“The crowd was amazing. The number of kids in the crowd was incredible,” Lindsay said.
Lindsay also praised the contribution from his entire squad after Redcliffe were forced to make five changes from the side named mid-week.
“We had a lot of new blokes that haven’t been there for the majority of the season,” he said.
“They all did what they had to do, and some of the regular boys took on more responsibility.
“It’s good to see that everyone is enthusiastic and keen to win a game of footy.”
A tense opening 25 minutes saw both sides fail to score before Dolphins’ hooker Darcy Etrich opened the scoring under the posts which preceded 10 minutes of dominance for the Dolphins.
Five minutes later, Shane Pumipi broke into space and accounted for Magpies’ debutant Josh Bowen-Bowyer on his way to the line.
Soft last-line defence from Souths Logan allowed John Brady to cap off a dominant period for the Dolphins, scoring next to the posts and sending the home side into halftime with a comfortable 16-0 lead.
Despite early second-half dominance by the Magpies, the floodgates soon opened up for the home side.
Incredible evasive play by halfback Luke Capewell saw him squeeze through a gap in the Magpies’ line before darting past two more defenders on his way to scoring the Dolphins’ fourth try eight minutes after halftime.
Missed tackles in a poor defensive display continued to hurt the Magpies as Marlon Doak broke through a number of attempted tackles before offloading to Capewell to score his second try in three minutes.
The halfback then turned provider for Josh Beehag who capitalised on a dropped ball, flying through to extend the Dolphins’ lead to 32 points, before scoring his second in the corner minutes later.
On 60 minutes, winger Curtis Johnston latched onto a bomb with a perfectly-timed leap to score the Dolphins’ eighth before Aaron Whitchurch finished the onslaught for the home side scoring in the corner.
A possible season-ending shoulder injury to Anthony Cherrington and a consolation try to Magpie Daniel Tamou on the stroke of fulltime were the only blunders on a near-perfect afternoon for Redcliffe locals.
“We had a fair arm wrestle at the start, but the game opened up for us after that,” Lindsay said.
“You have to take your opportunities when they present themselves and that’s what we did.
An impressive performance which caught the eye of the opposing coach came from debutant Magpies’ fullback Josh Bowen-Bowyer, producing one positive amongst many issues for the visitors.
“He [Bowyer] had a fair game. He should definitely be proud of his efforts,” Lindsay said.
Redcliffe’s attention now turns to their next game against sixth-placed Northern Pride knowing that anything but victory will see the Dolphins miss the finals in consecutive seasons.
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 46 (Josh Beehag 2, Luke Capewell 2, Aaron Whitchurch, Curtis Johnston, John Brady, Darcy Etrich, Shane Pumipi tries; Luke Capewell 5 goals) def SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES 6 (Daniel Tamou try; Scott Doyle goal) at Dolphin Oval.
Final teams
Redcliffe Dolphins: 1. Marlon Doak 2. Josh Beehag 3. Tristan Lumley 4. Aaron Whitchurch 5. Curtis Johnston 6. John Brady 7. Luke Capewell (c) 8. Charlie Faingaa 9. Darcy Etrich 25. Martin CordwELL 11. Nick Ritter 12. Anthony Cherrington 21. Tom Geraghty 14. Shane Pumipi 17. Taylor Brown 16. Harley Aiono 19. Joe Bradley
Souths Logan Magpies: 1. Josh Bowen-Bowyer 3. Scott Doyle 4. David Faamita 5. Mitchell Hallinan 6. Jack Joass 7. Rhys Jacks 8. Tikiko Noke 9. Travis Waddell 10. Andrew Edwards 11. Joe Boyce 12. Daniel Tamou 13. Phil Dennis (c) 14. Ben Thorburn 15. Aotealofa Tuimavave 16. Sam Gardel 18. Ihaka Watene 17. Ken Levu
