Foley Shield hangs in the balance

The Mendi Townsville Blackhawks, QCCS Mackay Cutters and Sea Swift Northern Pride are locked in a tight tussle for the Foley Shield after the initial rounds involving the Under 18s, Under 20s and Intrust Super Cup games played on a home-and-away basis.

All that are left now are the return matches for the ISC clubs meaning each town now has 2 more games to see if they can wrestle this prestigious trophy back to their region in the first year under the new format.

Currently, the Townsville Blackhawks are leading the way with 8 points and a for-and-against of +55.

The Cutters are on 6 points with a for-and-against of -54 and the Pride are on 4 points with a points difference of -1.

The games have been hotly contested this year with the Mackay Cutters and the Northern Pride showing great improvements in the Under 18 and Under 20 grades.

If it wasn’t for the blow out in the score in the Cutters and Blackhawks Intrust Super Cup game in Round 3 where the Blackhawks won by 48 points, the competition would be even closer.

Throw in the fact that the Blackhawks Under 18s only beat the Northern Pride by 1 point in the last round, it could have seen a situation where all teams were on 6 points going into the culminating games.

Congratulations must go to the Cutters and Pride Under 20s sides for making the state semi-finals of the Mal Meninga Cup, a fantastic achievement for both organisations and a clear indication that the north is still developing quality rugby league players.

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