The Cyril Connell Challenge will resume in full this week with a busy round after only featuring a North Queensland derby last weekend.
The teams that had a chance to sit back and take stock of Round 1 spent the past week preparing for Round 3 - with Norths Devils and Redcliffe Dolphins getting ready to rock Petrie in the great northside battle.
The opening round saw the Dolphins deal with the Tigers 30-10 and the Devils were knocked off by the Wynnum Manly Seagulls 22-12.
It was the same story that’s been told about rugby league since the dawn of time; control possession and you control the game.
The Dolphins had 54 per cent of the ball and did more with it, making eight line-breaks. The conclusion was a 30-10 win.
Dolphins coach Chris Little said he was looking forward to the battle.
“We really enjoy the games against Norths,” Little said. “A lot of our players go to school at Wavell and they are looking forward to this game.
“We knew (the Tigers) would be strong and we stuck to our plan. It worked really well and it will be the same against the Devils.
“I would have preferred to play week two and keep our momentum going, but a week off with this age group won’t hurt.
“They have school football coming up and we just have to balance it all.”
Michael Waqa will be a Dolphin to watch, making a mammoth 247 metres and three line-breaks in Round 1.
The Devils let the Seagulls score three times after Norths opened the account, and then had to chase the Seagulls away from their hot chips from then on.
On the other side of the Houghton Highway Bridge is Norths Devils coach Rob Tanielu.
“We played the Dolphins in the trial before the Broncos v Cowboys match and the boys really responded,” Tanielu said.
“The game had a bit of dropped ball, but the banter and rivalry was alive and well."
Norths completed at 44 percent in Round 1 and the Devils headmaster wants to see an improvement this week.
“We just need to hold the ball and stay connected... that’s what I want out of this week," Tanielu said.
“Against Wynnum, I don’t think we did those things.”
A player that he was pleased with was centre Poutoa Hotere-Papalii, who ran for a massive 131 metres and made one line-break.
“Hotere-Papalii was tremendous and I think he will continue to be through the Cyril Connell Challenge," Tanielu said.
Match: Falcons v Clydesdales
Round 3 -
home Team
Falcons
away Team
Clydesdales
Venue: Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
The Falcons would have spent the week thinking about how they could get the ball and keep it.
In Round 1 against the Capras, they only had it for 36 percent of the time, resulting in 230 tackles.
The Mustangs on the other hand will have spent the week off figuring out how to replicate their 44-0 shutout of the Wide Bay Bulls.
The Mustangs nearly played the perfect game, making nearly 1000 more metres than the Bulls, running away with 10 line-breaks and only missing 10 missed tackles.
Match: Cutters v Pride
Round 3 -
home Team
Cutters
away Team
Pride
Venue: Jack Manski Oval, Townsville
The Cutters almost got the win against the Blackhawks in Round 1, doing everything right but getting the two points.
They controlled the ball, kicked well and missed less tackles - sometimes football just isn’t fair.
The Blackhawks have now won two games in a row, beating the Pride in Round 2 and now have a well-earned week-off.
The Blackhawks led at half-time 18-12 and despite being reduced to 12 men, they still couldn’t be run down, winning 38-18.
Match: Bears v Seagulls
Round 3 -
home Team
Bears
away Team
Seagulls
Venue: UAA Park, Gold Coast
The Bears didn’t start the season with a win, recording a heavy loss against the Magpies 38-8; but Souths Logan may have done the rest of the competition a disservice by waking up the boys from Burleigh.
They just didn’t play well in the opening game with 41 missed tackles.
Tweed got the win with less ball than the Jets, but made it count and came away with a 28-20 win.
Match: Bulls v Capras
Round 3 -
home Team
Bulls
away Team
Capras
Venue: Eskdale Park, Maryborough
The Bulls didn’t have a happy Round 1 against the Mustangs, losing 44-0.
The Bulls were lost in the bottom paddock and couldn’t get the ball off the Mustangs who controlled it beautifully.
The Capras were dominant against the Falcons and came away 24-14 winners with 46 tackle breaks that created a momentum that couldn’t be stopped.
Match: Tigers v WM Seagulls
Round 3 -
home Team
Tigers
away Team
WM Seagulls
Venue: Totally Workwear Stadium, Brisbane
The Tigers will be looking to correct Round 1 and make sure they get away to a good start.
The Dolphins scored the first three tries and it was hard for them to get that momentum back.
Eight line-breaks to two meant the Tigers never got the ball in good position.
The Seagulls had good win over the Devils, doing everything in a clinical and simple way that led to starting the year with 22-12 win.
Match: Jets v Magpies
Round 3 -
home Team
Jets
away Team
Magpies
Venue: North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich
In Round 1, the Jets came oh so close to a win after they controlled the ball and did nearly everything right.
It just didn’t manifest itself in a win. Ipswich need to improve their discipline having recorded 10 penalties against them, giving the Seagulls momentum and in good position.
They'll be looking to take that experience and cash in on their first win against the Magpies.
Souths Logan were flawless against the Bears with 38-8 win. They controlled the tempo of the game proved too good for the Bears.
They produced 41 tackle breaks and four tries in the first 18 minutes in an outstanding display.
