The Hastings Deering Colts had had a two-week break, but this weekend, the players will be keen to get back in action and are ready for Round 11.
The Central Queensland Capras and Mackay Cutters will be going head-to-head this Saturday and both teams will be aiming to claim a run of wins that will see them climb into the finals.
Match: Cutters v Capras
Round 11 -
home Team
Cutters
away Team
Capras
Venue: BB Print Stadium, Mackay
In their last game in Round 9, the Cutters had a great 34-6 win over Burleigh Bears.
The Cutters started well and went up 22-0 at half-time and from there, the Bears couldn’t come back.
Mackay controlled the ball, broke tackles and created line breaks that led to six tries.
Tyler Holmes didn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to discover metres gained, with the Cutters centre scoring two tries and running for 160 metres.
On the other side of the ball, the Cutters dominated tackles and the Bears had no answers.
“Ethan Sweet, our edge, has been great for us, he has come up from our [Auswide Bank] Mal Meninga side and is going really well,” Mackay Cutters coach Tom Heggie said.
“Then our halves and Caleb Sinn and Henri Stocks are going really well.”
The Cutters missed 28 tackles, but made the Bears make 96 more tackles. That’s an amount of work in defence that can only impact negatively on attack.
Heggie said he could see the win coming.
“I think we have been building to that win, it’s been a good month for us,” Heggie said.
“We had a draw with Wynnum Manly and then two wins over the Bears and Tweed.
“The thing that we have focused on has been starts and our defence, that’s what we want right.
“The Capras a really gritty side and they put the cleaners through us in Round 2, so it’s another tough week this week.”
The Central Queensland Capras also scored 34 points in their last win in Round 9, but it was a much closer game with their opponents the Northern Pride also scoring 30 points.
The focus this week from the Central Queensland players will be making sure the Cutters don’t get the same freedom to score.
In their last match, the Capras started slowly, but warmed up nicely to the task.
The Pride had crossed for four tries by the 16th minute, but the Capras showed great resilience to fight back when it was needed.
The Capras only ended up with 45 per cent of the ball, but got their roll on at the right time and scored five of their six tries between the 22nd minute and the 71st minute.
Heavy lifter - Kaleb Sutton
Capras coach Lionel Harbin said he knew what had to be overcome this week.
“It was a strange game, we started poorly and then they came back then we came back,” Harbin said.
“That is something we have worked on, because you can’t let in 30 points and expect to win.
“We have a smaller side but we just need to nail that defence.”
Ammaron Gudeon was running hard and fast from the back and accumulated 168 metres for Central Queensland.
“AG couldn’t make our [Auswide Bank] Mal Meninga Cup side last year, but he has hung around looking for a game and has been great this year for us in Colts,” Harbin said.
Other strong performers were Keinan Smith who came from the interchange and made two-line breaks, while Capras tackling tyro Samuel Strohfeldt made 43 tackles.
“The Cutters are probably the form side of the competition, they have knocked off Tweed and Bears and are playing really good football, so we know we are in for a challenge this week,” Harbin said.
Match: Falcons v Clydesdales
Round 11 -
home Team
Falcons
away Team
Clydesdales
Venue: Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
The Sunshine Coast Falcons and Western Mustangs will play on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, with the home side sitting nicely in fourth place and searching for another a win to keep pace with the top four.
In their last match, the Falcons finished with a 52-32 win over Souths Logan Magpies, with Matthew Baker icing the cake with 171 metres and one try.
The Mustangs had a big win over Ipswich 56-28 and will be looking to take that form into the last third of the season.
The Mustangs attacked with gusto and made 40 tackle breaks and 10 line breaks.
Match: Tigers v Jets
Round 11 -
home Team
Tigers
away Team
Jets
Venue: Totally Workwear Stadium, Brisbane
Ipswich Jets and Brisbane Tigers will face off at 2pm on Saturday and the Jets will be hunting for their first win the season when they head into opposition territory.
The Jets lost 56-28 to the Mustangs in Toowoomba two weeks ago and while it was close at 22-16 at half-time, they were put under pressure in the second half and couldn’t go with the Mustangs.
however, Mitch Harsant was a shining light for the Jets, running hard and making 134 metres.
The Tigers travelled to Townsville for their last match and came away with a two-point win and two competition points – the perfect trip away.
The Tigers are in second spot on the ladder at the moment and Ronald Philitoga is a big reason for that, and his two tries and 202 metres against the Blackhawks will have the Jets alarm ringing.
Match: Pride v Blackhawks
Round 11 -
home Team
Pride
away Team
Blackhawks
Venue: Barlow Park, Cairns
A northern rivalry will go on show on Saturday when the Northern Pride and Townsville Blackhawks go head-to-head. While the two sides are in different positions in relation to their season to date, both are coming off a loss and would be keen to go one-up this weekend as nothing fires up teams like a neighbourhood stoush.
Against the Central Queensland Capras in their last match, the Pride’s Braye Porter found a way through the defence making 165 metres and he will be looking to find two line breaks again this week.
For Townsville, it will be about improving their starts, as they allowed the Tigers three tries in the first 22 minutes and from there they were chasing.
Jordan Lipp however impressed with a massive 272 metres and Cameron Bateup made 44 tackles.
Match: Dolphins v WM Seagulls
Round 11 -
home Team
Dolphins
away Team
WM Seagulls
Venue: Moreton Daily Stadium, Redcliffe
Redcliffe Dolphins and Wynnum Manly Seagulls don’t come together too often, but they will on Saturday in a game which looks to be a good match up.
The Seagulls are flying high at the top of the Hastings Deering Colts ladder with seven wins from nine games. The Dolphins are certainly no slouches in third, with six wins from nine games.
The Dolphins were unstoppable against Norths Devils in their last match, winning 32-16 and a huge part of that was Samual Elara with 235 metres.
Chayse Cavanagh made 46 tackles and helped the Dolphins get home.
While Dolphins were dealing with the Devils, the Seagulls were dealing with the Tweed species of Seagulls and won 30-12. Tom Farr made 188 metres and Braden Whittaker made 38 tackles in the victory.
Match: Bears v Seagulls
Round 11 -
home Team
Bears
away Team
Seagulls
Venue: Pizzey Park, Gold Coast
The coastal battle over a patch of sand will take place on Sunday at Pizzey Park between Burleigh Bears and Tweed Seagulls.
The Bears and Tweed don’t just share the coast, but also the table with both teams on 10 points.
The Bears are coming off a loss to the Cutters and will be looking to avenge the 34-6 beating.
Tony Francis was the best for the Bears with a line break and he also scored the only try for the Bears. The Seagulls will be looking to fix a few things too after they were beaten 30-12 by Wynnum Manly.
Jaylan To’o however ran like the Panther Brian To’o and made 205 metres for the Seagulls, but it wasn’t enough, while Charlie Murray did plenty of tackling with 34 tackles for the Seagulls.
Match: Devils v Magpies
Round 11 -
home Team
Devils
away Team
Magpies
Venue: Bishop Park, Brisbane
The traditional rivals of the 1980 grand final will clash at Bishop Park on Sunday to finish the round in Sunday’s only match.
In their last game, the Devils came up against the Dolphins and came up with a 32-16 loss.
Zakaria McGuire however carried the defence for the Devils and topped the tackle count with 43 tackles. The Devils had enough ball to win, but allowed the Dolphins too many chances.
Souths Logan were overrun in attack by the Falcons losing 52-32 in their last game.
Forward Cruise Ten however was a beacon for the Magpies with 35 tackles and one line break, while Peao Maka scored two tries and made 191 metres.