The 2025 season of the Hostplus Cup continues to keep fans on their toes, as the Northern Pride kept their finals hopes alive with a monumental upset against the league leading Townsville Blackhawks at Barlow Park.
In an unexpected turn of events, the absence of NRL players Jake Clifford and Thomas Duffy, has been greatly mitigated by the emergence of James Frazer, and in particular Seamus King-Smith.
King-Smith has been in red-hot form throughout the last month, though his performance against the Blackhawks is without doubt is magnum opus of 2025.
Three try assists against the competition’s premiere side in a do or die match commands true commendation for the undersized playmaker.
In addition to his stout offensive play, he missed no tackles in a resilient defensive showing against a formidable Blackhawks’ forward pack.
In addition to King-Smith, fullback Jarrett Subloo and centre Esom Ioka both stepped up for their sides, as Marly Bitungane continued his strong season with another 150 metre plus performance in the middle.
From the battle of the North to the battle of the Central, the Mackay Cutters resoundingly defeated the Central Queensland Capras 32-12 in Mackay.
Powerful Cutters’ winger Jimmy Ngutlik nabbed a double, while halfback Ryan Rivett impressed with two line breaks and a try of his own.
In the middle, John Radel provided plenty of oomph, racking up 52 tackles with none missed.
For the Capras, Nixon Putt ran for over 200 metres and scored a try, showing great determination despite the final result.
Following their win, the Cutters now sit on equal points with the 8th placed PNG Hunters, with five differential points separating the two teams.
In the highest scoring match of the round, the Burleigh Bears won 46-30 at home against the Tweed Seagulls.
A Deine Mariner hat-trick headlined this match, with the pacey centre carving up the Seagulls and breaking ten tackles in a stellar outing.
Bears’ five-eighth Josh Rogers chipped in two try assists, while nailing 7 from 10 conversions / penalty goals.
A positive for the Seagulls to take from the loss is the arrival of Cooper Bai.
The vice-captain of the Queensland Under 19s side, Bai scored a double and ran for 146 metres in his 50 minutes on the field, looking like a seasoned veteran despite being only 19 years old.
Under the bright lights of CBUS Super Stadium, the Ipswich Jets took care of business against the Brisbane Tigers, buoyed by the late inclusion of NRL star Alofiana Khan-Pereira.
The Titans winger scored twice and assisted one try, in a statement performance following his demotion.
Not looking to be outshone on the other wing, Ken Maumalo scored a try of his own in addition to a staggering 192 metres ran throughout the match.
However, despite the star-studded Jets lineup, the true star of the show was hooker Oliver Pascoe.
In a stat sheet that must be seen to be believed, Pascoe completed 49 tackles, scored one try, made two line breaks, broke nine tackles, ran for 176 metres and forced two dropouts in yet another mind-boggling performance from him this season.
After losing 46-18 last weekend, the Sunshine Coast Falcons truly flipped the script the weekend following, defeating the Western Clydesdales 48-16 at home.
Centre Flynn Camilleri bagged a hat-trick, while halfback Cody Hunter scored a whopping 16 points, converting 6 from 9 tries and scoring one of his own.
Front rower Cooper Page-Wilson scored his fourth try of the season, in addition to running for 111 metres and completing three offloads.
In last round’s broadcasted match, the wet weather failed to dampen the energy shown on field, as the Wynnum Manly Seagulls gave the chook pen something to cheer about, downing the Redcliffe Dolphins 18-10.
The competition’s form player, Liam Sutton, delivered yet another brilliant performance, despite a sin binning late in the match.
In arguably his worst performance this month, Sutton scored a try, made three line breaks, ran for 150 metres and kicked a timely 40/20.
His arrival for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls has massively altered their season trajectory, especially after losing Jock Madden for several months following his torn pectoral.
In addition to Sutton, the front row duo for the Seagulls stood up massively, running for a combined 337 metres from 32 hit ups.
Despite racing out to a 10-nil lead after 15 minutes, the Dolphins were unable to hold off a determined Wynnum side who have begun their charge to the top of the table, winning four from their last five matches.
Despite accruing two sin bins during the match, the Souths Logan Magpies dominated the Norths Devils 24-12 at Bishop Park, in yet another major Round 15 upset.
After the Magpies struck first through Rory Ferguson the Devils would respond with two quick tries, before a late try from Floyd Aubrey and an ever later penalty goal from Latrell Siegwalt would see the underdogs up 14-10 at the half.
From there on in, the Magpies would only extend their lead, with Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea scoring once more in his second starting appearance for Souths Logan.
Despite sitting in 11th place, the Magpies own the 6th best points differential, indicating that their current table standing is not reflective of their performance throughout the season.
ROUND 15 RESULTS
SATURDAY JUNE 28
Burleigh Bears 46 def Tweed Seagulls 30 at Seagulls Sporting Complex, Tweed Heads
Mackay Cutters 32 def Central Queensland Capras 12 at BB Print Stadium, Mackay
Northern Pride 28 def Townsville Blackhawks 14 at Barlow Park, Cairns
Sunshine Coast Falcons 48 def Western Clydesdales 16 at Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
SUNDAY JUNE 29
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 18 def Redcliffe Dolphins 10 at BMD Kougari Oval, Brisbane
Souths Logan Magpies 24 def Norths Devils 12 at Bishop Park, Brisbane
