Seagulls and Blackhawks aim for good form before finals

Townsville Blackhawks and Wynnum Manly Seagulls could be a preview of what is to come in the next month, with first place on the ladder facing off against second place.

Wynnum Manly have been top of the table since Round 4 and will be looking to assert their authority on a team they know could be challenging them in the finals.

The Seagulls played Norths Devils last round and flexed their muscle, winning 42-4, scoring seven tries to one to send a clear message that they weren’t keen on being disappointed like in 2019.

Alec McDonald made 185 metres and Will Parslow made 37 tackles to keep the Seagulls flying high.

With 56 per cent of the ball and a massive 500 more metres made than the Devils, the Seagulls ran away with a big win.

Wynnum Manly coach Michael Dobson said he and his team were excited for the challenge ahead.

“We knew we had a tough run into the finals, we have played three strong teams and now we have to finish with the Blackhawks in Townsville,” Dobson said.

“We want to see high intensity in defence and you are going to need high completion rates because it’s going to be hot up there.

“We are excited and it’s all about that high intensity football.”

The Blackhawks went close to replicating the Wynnum Manly win and got the cash 41-10 over Tweed Seagulls.

Jordan Lipp is equal with Lodoviko Cokanauto on 13 tries and the Blackhawks have amazing strike with the ball with Dylan White having 10 tries and Jesse Yallop having 11.

The Lipp, Yallop and White show was at it again last week against Tweed with the trio contributing five tries and six goals for 32 points.

Lipp finished with 221 metres and White three-line breaks.

Blackhawks coach Dave Elliott said his side were ready for the Wynnum Manly variety of Seagulls.

“Wynnum have been the bench mark all year we know that but that’s what is exciting,” Elliott said.

“This week we get to test ourselves against the top of the table team.

“They throw lots of attack at you and come at you all day, so our defence is going to need to be up for that.

“We just need to focus on us and our systems we have in place, we have been a bit up and down this year but now we have slowly crept up the table.”

It’s fair to say things didn’t go well for the Northern Pride on their trip to Petrie to play Redcliffe Dolphins, losing 76-4. Conceding 13 tries to one isn’t ideal for the Pride, but Braye Porter did his best to hold the Dolphins out with 31 tackles and Robert Derby made 102 metres.

Their opponents this weekend the Bears didn’t fare much better in their 52-10 loss to Sunshine Coast Falcons. Daniel Shannon worked hard for the Bears and made 156 metres and Blake Campbell made 35 tackles.

The Mustangs were strong against the Central Queensland Capras going down 32-22 and will want to take the positive parts of the loss and replicate it against Tweed Seagulls this week.

The Mustangs can’t play finals, but can cause problems for Tweed. Oliver Bichel was the Mustangs best last weekend with 182 metres and one-line break.

Matthew Wilson was outstanding with two tries and three goals to give the Mustangs a red-hot chance.

The Tweed may be finals bound, but they won’t be happy getting beaten 41-10 by the Blackhawks.

It took the Seagulls 44 minutes to score and by then the Blackhawks had scored five tries.

Jed Edwards cracked the 50 tackles in a massive tackling effort.

Brisbane Tigers and Mackay Cutters will take different approaches into this round; the Cutters are coming off a big win over Ipswich Jets and are hanging onto eighth spot for dear life, while the Tigers can’t miss finals, but are coming from a loss to the Magpies.

The second half from the Tigers will be a cause for concern – it was game on at 14-8 to the Magpies at halftime, but then it all fell apart for the Tigers losing 34-26.

In what was an even game, the Tigers missed fewer tackles, but when the Magpies had the ball, they did plenty with it.

The Cutters had a win over the Jets 44-16 and started well, scoring three tries in the first 12 minutes.

Mackay’s Henri Stocks stocks are on the rise with 126 points this season and he knocked off another six goals against the Jets.

Neither the Ipswich Jets or Norths Devils can make the finals, but what they can do is finish the year on a positive note, so when November 1 rolls around and you’re back doing pre-season you have a template for how you want to play.

The Jets were beaten by the Cutters 44-16 last week, but Declan Buckley scored two tries for the Jets but the 28-6 start the Jets gave the Cutters at half time was too hard to get back.

Riley Morris also made 46 tackles for the Jets.

The Devils came up against Wynnum and got the full Wynnum treatment 42-4.

Lodoviko will be a danger for the Jets this week and he added another try to his tally of 13. Jared Chambers nearly cracked the 200-metre mark in a badly beaten side which is outstanding.

Norths’ Zac Brooks made 47 tackles.

The defending premiers the Falcons had the Burleigh Bears at home and showed the rest of the competition that they’re not ready just yet to give up their title.

The Falcons were dominate and won 52-10 scoring nine tries to two.

Jake Aiken moved around the field like a giant with 198 metres and two tries, while Jai Smoothy kicked goals for fun with eight. His 16 points took him up to 124 points for the season.

The Capras had a solid 10-point win over the Mustangs and have now won six games this year.

Mitchell Leard-Lamont cracked the double 100 and finished with 207 metres while Samuel Strohfeldt was the second Colt this round to make 50 tackles.

The Capras goal will be to finish the year with two wins in a row.

Souths and the Dolphins will close out the last round for 2021. Both teams are coming off wins, Souths are in sixth spot and the Dolphins in fourth, so this is another potential final battle.

Souths got the win over the Tigers and the Dolphins were more like a Killer Whale against the Pride 76-4 last weekend.

Cruise Ten was outstanding for the Magpies again. The headgeared warrior is dominating the Colts with strong performances every week.

Ten had 37 tackles and Tyrone Harding was hard to tackle with 167 metres.

The Dolphins were outstanding against Pride scoring 13 tries, Cody Hunter would have slept well on Sunday night after his three tries and 12 goals.

It was 32-0 at halftime and the most pleasing thing for the Dolphins would have been the fact they went on with it to post an imposing win.

QRL Judiciary results - Round 13