Almost 2300 people packed Browne Park last night after the Capras and the State Government joined forces to make entry free in a bid to lift community spirits in the wake of the city's floods.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, they watched the CQ Capras go down 38-22 to the Mackay Cutters in the XXXX Rivalry Round.
Capras coach Kim Williams told the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin* he was disappointed with the result.
"We're a lot better than that and that's 40 minutes of last week and now 80 minutes of this week of pretty disappointing play so obviously some things need to change,” he said.
The home side looked to impress from the opening kick-off, pressuring the Cutters line and dominating possession. They scored their first points through centre Justin Tavae who crossed for the first of his two tries in the eighth minute off the back of a good backline movement.
But from about the 10-minute mark, the pendulum swung firmly back in the visitors' favour and they ran in four unanswered tries in the to lead 18-6 at halftime.
The Capras were first on the board in the second half, with five-eighth Reece Baker diving over for a try to take the score to 18-12.
A comeback looked on the cards when Bill Cullen scored in the 50th minute to close the gap to 20-16, but the Cutters rallied, scoring two tries in two minutes to go to 30-16.
The Capras were in again in the 64th minute with Tavae over for his second, but the Cutters ran in two more tries to secure the two competition points.
Williams said defence was again a major concern for the Capras, but they were also guilty of not sticking to the game plan and failing to build pressure on the opposition.
"Every time that we had them under pressure we found a way to give away a penalty late in the tackle count and that's just really disappointing,” he said.
"We just handed them points and we should be able to defend more resiliently when the oppositions in our territory.”
For the Cutters, it was a strong performance away from home, with winger Nathan Saumalu a standout crossing for three tries.
Next weekend, both clubs will undertake tough road trips with Mackay heading to Davies Park to play Souths Logan and the Capras travelling to Sunshine Coast Stadium to take on the Falcons.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
MACKAY CUTTERS 38 (Nathan Saumalu 3, Andrew Davey 2, Johnny Faletagoa’i, Setaimata Sa, Braden Uele tries; Nicholas Hynes 3 goals) def CQ CAPRAS 22 (Justin Tavae 2, Reece Baker, William Cullen tries; Tony Tumusa 3 goals) at Browne Park.
*Read the full Morning Bulletin report: Coach Williams apologetic after Capras fail to deliver
