Bears and Jets excited to feature on the big stage

The weekend off has provided both teams with a chance to stop and reflect; the Jets coming off a 40-10 loss to Souths Logan Magpies, while the Bears went down to Tweed Seagulls 33-6.

Ipswich just didn’t control the ball against the Magpies and paid a heavy price. It’s hard to win games with only 44 per cent of the ball as it means too much work has to be done in defence and the Jets got plenty of practice at tackling with 151 tackles made. 

Throw 11 penalties and two sin bins into the mix, it just shows how the Jets made things really hard for themselves.

Lleyton Dodd made 21 tackles topping the count for the game and in attack, while Mutua Brown ran for 75 metres with one-line break.

Jets coach Jye Tuaiamau-Gadsdon said he was excited about the final round for his side.

“It’s our last round, but we get to play on Cbus before the Titans and they have really looked after us with tickets,” Tuaiamau-Gadsdon said.

“It’s going to be a great reward for the Jets.

“What we really want to do this week is finish well.

"Last week, a few players did their own thing and went away from what we talked about; so we just want to show that commitment to our team.”

The Bears had a similar story to tell against Tweed. They were down 16-0 at half-time and with only 39 per cent of the ball, things were all an up hill battle for the side.

But Bears coach Paul Kuhnemann was positive about their comeback.

“We scored just after half-time and that made it 16-6, but then we had a try disallowed and they went down the other end to score,” Kuhemann said.

“That’s a hard lesson. We just keep making mistakes at the wrong time.

“We are really excited about playing at the Coast and before the Titans.

“We have to go there and do it justice and get our defence right.

"The Jets are a good team with threats all over the field.”

Perched in a good position, Tweed and Souths Logan will swoop on Saturday at Tugun.

The Magpies are coming off a dominant performance over Ipswich, while Tweed enjoyed a day out against the Bears.

The Magpies were too good for the Jets and had 56 per cent of the ball; while the black and whites will be hoping to dominate field position again after having 71 per cent of possession last week.

Brave Taualai showed plenty of bravery with his 97 metres, while Delacruz Ripley made two line-breaks.

Tweed were up 16-0 and from there, beat the Bears 33-6. The Seagulls had a a smorgasbord of ball to play with and made the most of the extra five minutes they held the ball.

Matthew Barrow made a mammoth 228 metres and two line-breaks as their best.

Norths Devils return to Bishop Park on Saturday to face the Tigers after their last excursion was a 26-18 loss to Redcliffe Dolphins.

The Devils got away to a good start and scored twice in the first 16 minutes, but from there, they couldn’t find any joy as the Dolphins bounced back.

The Tigers came away from their home game against Wynnum with a 24-14 win.

Jeremy Trappett made a 122 metre contribution to the win and Luke Anderson broke the line twice.

Wynnum Manly Seagulls would have had to stop and get something to eat on the way home from their game against Brisbane Tigers after being starved of the ball.

Wynnum had to do a lot of tackling and conceded 10 penalties, gifting the Tigers plenty of opportunity and a 24-14 win.

The Dolphins found a way to win the ‘northside cup’ against Norths 26-18.

After starting slowly, they found their groove by scoring in clumps; that meant the Devils were chasing at half-time down 12-8 and couldn’t come back in the second half. 

The Cutters will be looking to repeat their 26-12 win from the last time they faced off against the Pride.

Balin Burnett was outstanding for the Cutters scoring two tries and making a line break.

Matthew Watts lit up the game with 172 metres for Mackay.

The Pride will be looking to get moving from the start. Allowing tries from the kick-off don’t lead to the best afternoons.

They only had 41 per cent of the ball and gave the Cutters the ball for a full five minutes more than they had it.

Central Queensland Capras are coming home from Maryborough with a rare Cyril Connell Challenge draw.

Liam Barnes was outstanding for the Capras with three tries in 17 minutes and his two line-breaks and 133 run metres was phenomenal.

The Mustangs went to Caloundra, but didn’t get any sun or hot chips, coming home with a 20-18 loss despite dominating 54 per cent of the ball and completing 17 of their 28 sets.

Wide Bay will feel like a draw against the Capras was an unfair result.

With 62 per cent of the ball, the Capras should have been riding it home and saluting, but one line-break to three and 15 tackle breaks to 36 meant their attack didn’t fire.

The Falcons win over the Mustangs was the opposite. They had no ball with 46 per cent of possession and still won 20-18.

Chase Paterson made 25 tackles and Zac Garton made 102 metres.