The South East Queensland Division’s Under 16s pre-season competition commenced last weekend with Redcliffe’s fantastic new Dolphin Oval complex hosting Round 1 of the Challenge series.
In a great start for the Brisbane league, all three sided notched wins over their rivals.
Brisbane Red were very disciplined in their clash against Gold Coast Green, racing to a commanding 24-0 lead by the halftime break.
The defensive effort from Gold Coast was more evident during the second half, restricting Brisbane to only two more tries for the 34-4 win.
In the second game, Gold Coast White and Brisbane Blue both showed a desperation in defence to restrict a number of attacking raids.
It was a match either side may have won, but Brisbane’s third try handed the Blue team a thrilling 16 points to 10 win over the Coast.
The final game was a see-sawing affair throughout, with Ipswich and Brisbane Grey putting on some great attach and defence.
With only minutes remaining, the Diggers led 22-16 and a deserved win was in sight.
However, a try gave Brisbane a chance and to the delight of the Grey fans, a converted try saw Ipswich beaten on the bell 26-22 to cap an exciting day of football.
Full match results:
Brisbane Red 34 (Fanitesi Niu, Feao Maka, Danny Heenan, Cruise Ten, Jett Trembath, Tristan Atrill tries; Ezra Coulston 5 goals) def Gold Coast Green 4 (Lofi Perira try)
Brisbane Blue 16 (Grant Tuisamoa, Lachlan Tenison-Woods, Max Plath tries; Jac Gough 2 goals) def Gold Coast White 10 (Ryan Garner, Toby Sexton tries; Toby Sexton goal)
Brisbane Grey 26 (Gracen Sproule, Luke Nielsen, Dennis Leaupepe, Harrison Graham, Kaleb Radford tries; Lucas Bell 3 goals) def Ipswich 22 (Nathan Stephenson, Liam Wernowski, Quentin Vaaua, Romeo Tanielu tries; Bradley Zampech 3 goals)
This coming week in Round 2, the games will be played at the Jimboomba Thunderdome, South Street, Jimboomba.
See below for match times:
Saturday, March 11
Ipswich v Brisbane Red 3pm
Brisbane Blue v Gold Coast Green 4pm
Brisbane Grey v Gold Coast White 5pm
