This Sunday, September 8, minor premiers the Sunshine Coast Falcons will play host to the Townsville Blackhawks at Sunshine Coast Stadium, in what will be one of the top matchups of the round.
The Sunshine Coast Falcons have only lost one game this season and will be favourites to continue their winning run in Week 1 of the finals.
The winner of this match will earn a week off and advance through to the preliminary final, whilst the losing team will get another chance, and will play the winner of the Norths Devils and Easts Tigers, at home the following week.
The record-breaking Falcons have conceded the least points per game (12.7) in a Cup season ever – the previous best was Redcliffe (12.9 per game in 1996).
The Blackhawks on the other hand have won 10 of their past 11 games and will be looking to continue their winning run well into the finals.
The Falcons and Blackhawks have already met on two occasions this past season, and both games have lived up to expectation as far as entertainment value goes.
The two teams first met in Round 10 at Jack Manski Oval, with Falcons coming away with a 34-10 victory over the Blackhawks in Townsville.
The two teams met again on the Sunshine Coast in Round 21, with the Falcons again claiming victory with a strong 40-18 win over the Blackhawks, at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Both teams boast a plethora of NRL experience with a total of 233 games between the two sides.
Both teams are set to be without key personnel with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Nicho Hynes, Joe Stimson, and Jon Reuben all unavailable for the Falcons, whilst the Blackhawks will also be without Kyle Laybutt and Jake Marketo.
The key matchup for this game will be the two halfbacks in Todd Murphy and Shaun Nona. Both are experienced playmakers who have played their fair share of Intrust Super Cup finals games and will be an integral part of their team’s success.
Todd Murphy is the leading point scorer for the 2019 season with 270 points, whilst Shaun Nona requires just eight points in order to reach 700 Intrust Super Cup points.
By the Numbers:
Todd Murphy (Sunshine Coast Falcons):
- Appearances: 19
- Tries: 10
- Goals: 115
- Forced Drop Outs: 3
- Average Kicking Metres: 147m
- Try Assists: 13
- Line Break Assists: 7
- Offloads 16
- Average Run M: 66m
Shuan Nona (Townsville Blackhawks)
- Appearances: 17
- Tries: 1
- Goals: 55
- Forced Drop Outs: 12
- Average Kick M: 124m
- Try Assists: 19
- Line Break Assists: 14
- Offloads 7
- Average Run M: 47m
Who will claim victory this weekend at Sunshine Coast Stadium?
Only time will tell!
