Ipswich Jets v Northern Pride
North Ipswich Reserve on Saturday, July 29 - 3pm
Referee: Tim Rutherford
Head-to-Head: Pride 11 Ipswich 10 Drawn 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #JETSvPRIDE
Ipswich prop Nathaniel Neale will play his 100th Cup game when the desperate Jets host the Northern Pride in Round 21 action. Neale has been a standout for the Jets throughout 2017, with his strong carries and ability to offload a feature of many Ipswich performances this year. He scored a crucial solo try that provided the Jets with valuable momentum in their 22-20 ‘Get in the Game’ Country Week victory over Townsville in Winton last weekend. The Northern Pride produced an impressive performance in Country Week as well, downing Wynnum Manly 40-16 in Bamaga. The victory snapped a run of outs for a Pride team which is out of finals contention. The Jets are still in with a chance of playing finals football, but they will need to win their remaining games and hope other results fall their way. Ipswich has won three of their past four encounters against the Pride, including their first meeting earlier this year at Barlow Park to the tune of 24-10.
Burleigh Bears v Townsville Blackhawks
Pizzey Park on Saturday, July 29 – 5.45pm
Referee: Liam Kennedy
Assistant Referee: Ben Watts
Head-to-Head: Burleigh 2 Townsville 2 Drawn 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #BEARSvTSVB
The Burleigh Bears will be out to continue their giant-killing role after upsetting premiership fancies the Sunshine Coast Falcons last weekend. Bears speedster Jake Carl ran in four tries as the Bears beat the Falcons 32-26 in arguably their best performance of the season. Burleigh will now host the Blackhawks, who will be on the rebound after a close loss to the Jets last weekend. A win over the Bears would almost certainly seal a third-straight finals appearance for Kristian Woolf’s Blackhawks. The battle of the two forward packs promises to be a ripper here, with both sides boasting some of the competition’s most formidable big men in the middle. In their first encounter earlier this year, Burleigh beat the Blackhawks 20-18, extending their unbeaten against the Townsville team to three matches. Townsville fullback Carlin Anderson has now scored 190 points for the year, an equal season record for the Blackhawks with Kyle Feldt (2015). For the Bears, Jamal Fogarty requires nine points to bring up 500 in the Cup.
CQ Capras v Sunshine Coast Falcons
Browne Park on Saturday, July 29 - 6pm
Referee: Chris Anderson
Head-to-Head: Sunshine Coast 9 Central 8 Drawn 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #CQCvSCF
The Sunshine Coast Falcons will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s surprise loss to the Burleigh Bears with a strong performance against the Capras tomorrow night. The Falcons – who sit in second spot on the Intrust Super Cup ladder behind the Hunters – were on the back foot early against a fired-up Bears, so will be aiming to start well against CQ side who felt the full force of the firepower in the Dolphins team, going down 42-6 at Clermont. It has been a tough season so far for the Capras despite some bright sparks – but they will be aiming to break a seven-game losing streak in this game. Falcons fullback Guy Hamilton kicked three goals last weekend and now has 169 competition points this season. He only requires 12 more points to overtake Dennis Sandow as highest season points scorer for Sunshine Coast who scored 180 in 2010.
Redcliffe Dolphins v PNG Hunters
Dolphin Oval on Sunday, July 30 – 1.40pm* (Live on Channel 9)
Referee: Chris Butler
Assistant Referee: Michael Gordon
Head-to-Head: PNG 5 Redcliffe 1 Drawn 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #PHINSvPNG
Two of the competition’s top teams this season the Hunters and Dolphins go head-to-head in this weekend’s TV game. Sitting pretty at the top of the table – the Hunters have been doing just enough to stay in front of their rivals and were held to a 22-22 draw by the Mackay Cutters last weekend. Redcliffe however were able to stamp their class over the Capras with a strong 42-6 win. The last time they met in Round 7 in Port Moresby, it was a closely fought match with PNG gaining a 12-10 victory. It again shapes as a close one, with both sides having won one game at Dolphin Oval, while there has also been one draw. The Hunters have improved their record on the road this year and have won seven of their eight away games (a loss to the Falcons in Round 6) – while the Dolphins are equally strong at home. Their one-point loss to Wynnum Manly two weeks ago was their first loss at Dolphin in 10 games.
Wynnum Manly Seagulls v Easts Tigers
BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday, July 30 - 3pm
Referee: Tyson Brough
Head-to-Head: Easts 23 Wynnum 21 Drawn 1
Twitter: #intrustsupercup #WYNvTIGES
Live Stream: Seagulls TV
After a heavy loss to the Northern Pride in Bamaga last weekend, the Seagulls are back to the familiar surrounds of BMD Kougari Oval and will be hoping to put that performance behind them when they take on the Tigers. A recent acquisition by the club, half Shaun Nona scored the first try of the match for the Gulls last weekend and now requires 10 points to bring up 500 in the Cup. Winger Daniel Ogden also scored last weekend to notch try number 135, equalling the most in competition history with Nathanael Barnes. The Tigers come into this game following a handy win over the Devils in last week’s ‘Get in the Game’ Country Week match in Mundubbera. Brayden Torpy was on with the boot, kicking five out of six conversions, while also scoring a try of his own. Playing at fullback last weekend, he has been named in the number 7 for this match. Easts are enjoying a good run of form of last and have won five of their past six away games – and they have also won their past five games.
…
Tweed Heads Seagulls – bye
Mackay Cutters – bye
Souths Logan Magpies – bye
Norths Devils – bye
*Statistics provided by Brad Tallon
