Following the postponement of Round 1 due to Cyclone Alfred, this weekend will see the first football played for the Hostplus Cup competition this year.
The Brisbane Tigers host the Central Queensland Capras at Totally Workwear Stadium which found itself under water last week, but chief groundsman and former Tiger winger Mark MacDonald has the water gone and ready for the first broadcast match of the season.
Head-to-head it’s all the Tigers, and the Capras are going to have to overcome a huge deficit of 39 Tigers’ wins to 11.
It doesn’t get better for the Capras at the venue either with the Central Queensland boys not having a win at Langlands since 2011 where they won 26-22 which is 5062 days ago.
The Capras made the finals in 2024 and were looking good until week two where they bowed-out to the Dolphins.
While the 2023 premiers didn’t make the finals last year, it's something that will sting the Tigers and prime them for a big 2025.
The Tigers have had a clean-out with only three players named from the 2023 Grand Final - Jacks, Rafter and Pulu the only survivors.
They will be looking to premiership winning captain Ryley Jacks to move the big Tigers around the field and make sure they’re in position to attack.
Jacks is closing in on 150 Cup games and has a premiership in his back pocket which will no doubt get this young Tigers side moving in 2025.
Jacks is a master manipulator of his forwards and getting the ball to his big outside backs will be top of his to-do list.
The Tigers have an inexperienced backline around Jacks with only 59 Cup games between them, so their Hostplus Cup education is coming and Jacks is just the man to accelerate that process.
The Tigers backline have 21 tries between them, while Jacks is sitting on 50 tries across his career so a lot is going to fall on the skipper in 2025.
This time of year, when it’s hot and you’re struggling to breathe, a bench weapon or two can be worth its weight in gold, and that’s what the Capras have in two young Central Queensland debutants.
The Capras will be in search of enthusiasm from their young reserves and on that bench, they have two of the best young talents in Lewis Symonds and John Fineanganofo.
Symonds and Fineanganofo have both played a lot of Mal Meninga Cup presented by Ford and are now forging their way in the Hostplus Cup.
Symonds has only played two Cup games after dominating 22 Meninga Cup games from 2022-2024.
He moves up the middle and is a great support player - he also came off the bench for the Queensland U19s in 2024.
His familiar head gear can pop up anywhere and that will be a danger for tired Tigers when Symonds comes on the field.
Fineanganofo was a revelation for the Dolphins in the Mal Meninga Cup when they won the premiership in 2023.
In the preliminary final against Wynnum, he scored three tries and kicked seven from 10 goals, and then backed it up in the Grand Final with a try and three goals.
Close to the line, Fineanganofo is all power as he moves players out of his way.
Fineanganofo has played seven Cup games and will be energy-plus off the bench.
It's shaping as a young Tigers side with an experienced half looking to right the wrongs of 2024, against a Capras team with youth and enthusiasm looking to start their 2025 journey and go further than week two of the finals.
You can watch this weekend’s Hostplus Cup Match of the Round between the Tigers and Capras live and free on 9Now and Kayo, as well as Queensland Rugby League’s home of live streaming Qplus.tv
Subscribe today and catch every match of every QRL Statewide Competition live and on demand.
