Ipswich win emotional clash with Wynnum Manly

Round 18 of the Hostplus Cup was an emotional day at the North Ipswich Reserve.

Both the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and Ipswich Jets honoured two people who meant the world to the rugby league family, but sadly passed away this week.

Those two were Paul Green, who coached Wynnum Manly to back-to-back premierships in 2011 and 2012, and Michael Purcell, who played 73 games for the Jets.

The Jets had the added layer of captain Nat Neale playing his 82nd and final game at the North Ipswich Reserve after playing his first home game in Round 3 against the Sunshine Coast in 2011.

Wynnum Manly haven’t visited Ipswich since 2017 but have won the last four times they’ve clashed including a 56-4 win earlier this season.

The Jets starts to games have proven problematic with them only scoring 12 tries in the first 20 minutes of their games this season.

But the Jets went a long way to correcting that issue when they scored the first two tries inside the first 20 minutes and then a third in the 21st.

It was certainly not pretty but the Jets would take the four points; Gerome Burns hoisted the kick across the field and in the scramble for the ball another kick was placed into the in-goal, then another scramble and Lachlan Cooper came away with the ball and his third try this season.

For only the fifth time this season, the Jets scored first and took a 6-0 lead. The Jets scored the second try when Rhys Jacks saw his opposite number in the line and decided to try his luck going straight through him to score his second try for the Jets in 34 games.

Any team that has tries on their mind will have wide eyes when they get a mid-field scrum and the Jets’ eyes were bulging out of their head.

Ratu Rotavisoro, on the end of the mid-field scrum and some slick passing, scored in the right corner.

Then it was the chip and chase that brought points with Burns kicking for himself, Cooper grabbing it and passing it inside for Burns to score.

The Jets were getting down to attacking areas easily and when there they were throwing options that the Seagulls couldn’t handle.

As the ball went along the Jets backline Dominic Macumboy dove over to give the Jets a 26-0 start. That had the Jets high fiving and Wynnum Manly wondering what was happening.

Wynnum Manly started the long climb back out of the defensive hole they'd dug when Kalolo Saitaua climbed into the line and on the back of that play the ball Harrison Graham dived over to give the Seagulls a positive at half-time.