XXXX Rivalry Round has lived up to its name with the Mackay Cutters edging out their rivals the Central Queensland Capras in a game that went right down to the wire, with the Cutters prevailing 28-20 winners at Browne Park.
It was a battle between the two opposing hookers tonight, with a first half double from Capras hooker Treymaine Brown not enough to lift them to their first win of the season, with his opposite number Sean Mullany scoring a double of his own, including a try in the 77th minute that dashed any hopes of a late Capras comeback.
With the Cutters leading by 22-14, a try to lock Lachlan Hubner in the 74th minute saw the Capras only trailing by two points, but young Cutters half Brandon Finnegan showed plenty of maturity and poise to close out the game in what was just his third Cup game.
Match: Capras v Cutters
Round 4 -
home Team
Capras
13th Position
away Team
Cutters
10th Position
Venue: Browne Park, Rockhampton
Bench forward Michael Neseri impressed in his Capras debut, carrying the ball strongly and holding his own in defence in the front row while Raeden Robinson also did his best to get the Capras over the line.
In a game where neither side were able to gain a stronghold over the match, failure to execute some key chances especially early in the second half came back to haunt the Capras, with the Rockhampton-based side still winless after the first four rounds.
Capras head coach Guy Williams praised his sides effort over the full 80 minutes but was left disappointed his side was unable to grind out a win in yet another close game this year.
“We are disappointed we lost tonight... the players are disappointed and losing is not something we accept," Williams said.
"I think just that lack of execution and some fundamental errors made it hard to put pressure on the opposition which led to the result being what it was.
“There’s lots of positives to take out of all four of our performances this year, as a club we just need to find a way to win those games.”
Mackay Cutters head coach Michael Crawley said he was happy to see his side fight hard to notch their first win of the season.
“It was really important for us to just get the two points," Crawley said.
"It’s pretty common for your first victory to be a little bit scrappy when your confidence is a bit down and that was certainly the case at times to tonight.
“I thought our resilience was a little bit better and we were able to hang in there to get the win.”
The Cutters will look to keep their winning ways going when they face the Souths Logan Magpies next Saturday at BB Print Stadium.
Match: Cutters v Magpies
Round 5 -
home Team
Cutters
12th Position
away Team
Magpies
8th Position
Venue: BB Print Stadium, Mackay
Meanwhile, the Capras will face the Ipswich Jets at North Ipswich Reserve.
Match: Jets v Capras
Round 5 -
home Team
Jets
13th Position
away Team
Capras
14th Position
Venue: North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich
