Milestones ignite Country Week fixtures

Numerous stars of the Hostplus Cup will reach significant individual milestones when Round 19 heads to regional and rural Queensland this weekend.

The popular Country Week initiative is presented by Ford Australia and will again deliver big plays and big moments on local footy fields where the heart of the game beats.

The best of the Hostplus Cup will be spread far and wide, with this weekend’s matches to be played in Roma, Innisfail, Gympie, Blackwater, Clermont, Ayr and Warwick.

The emotions will be running high across many of the grounds, including Gympie’s Albert Park, where Norths Devils halfback Jack Ahearn will run out for his 200th Hostplus Cup game against the league-leading Sunshine Coast Falcons.  

“Two hundred games in the Hostplus Cup is a fantastic achievement,” QRL competitions manager David Maiden said today.

“Jack continues to be a great ambassador for our competition and on behalf of the QRL, we send our best wishes to both Jack and his family this weekend and into the future.”

In what promises to be a monumental weekend for many clubs, Burleigh Bears centre Lee Turner Rau is set to play his 100th Cup match against the Townsville Blackhawks in Ayr.

Players reaching the 50-game Cup milestone for their respective clubs this weekend are:

·       Kienan Tempest (Souths Logan Magpies v Northern Pride at Innisfail)

·       Rodrick Tai (Central Queensland Capras v Brisbane Tigers at Blackwater)

·       Mason Teague (Burleigh Bears v Townsville Blackhawks at Ayr)

·       Jamal Shibasaki (Wynnum Manly Seagulls v Tweed Seagulls at Warwick)

·       Jerome Veve (Norths Devils v Sunshine Coast Falcons at Gympie)

Ipswich head coach Tye Ingebrigtsen will notch his 50th game in charge of the Jets, who head to  Roma’s Arthur Beetson Oval for a showdown against the Ben and Shane Walker-led Western Clydesdales.

The 2026 Country Week spectacular is proudly supported by the Queensland Government, with the Acting Sports Minister proudly backing a huge round of footy in the bush.

“Queensland is the home of Australian sport and Country Week isn’t just a round of footy,” Minister Powell said.

“It brings communities together, boosts local businesses, and gives fans the chance to get up close with future stars of the NRL and the Maroons right in their own backyard.

“And moments like that are what inspire the next generation to get involved in sport.”

Country Week preview, presented by Ford Australia

Statistics provided by Brad Tallon

Western Clydesdales v Ipswich Jets (Roma – Arthur Beetson Oval, Saturday 3pm): 

* Fourth Cup game in Roma; last in 2022; Second game there for Clydesdales and the first for Ipswich

* Clydesdales beat Redcliffe 32-12 there in 1999

* Head-to-Head: Clydesdales 19 Ipswich 8 Drawn 1

* Clydesdales have lost their past three games

* Last match: 2026 Rd 11: Clydesdales 38 def Ipswich 24 (Dayboro)

* Ipswich have won four of the last five games between these two sides

* Ipswich require 24 points to bring up 15,000 in cup – they have 16,697 against

* 50th game as coach for Tye Ingebrigtsen (all Ipswich) - he has 25 wins, 1 draw, 23 losses

Northern Pride v Souths Logan Magpies (Innisfail – Callendar Park, Saturday 3.30pm):  

* Ninth Cup game in Innisfail, last in 2022; Fifth game for Pride, two wins two losses; second game for Magpies

* Magpies lost 48-24 to North Qld Young Guns there in 2002

* Head-to-Head: Pride 20 Souths-Logan 11 Drawn 1

* Last match: 2026 Rd 9: Souths Logan 36 drew Pride 36 (Davies Park)

* Pride have won five of the last seven games between these two sides with one drawn

* 50th Cup game: Kienan Tempest (all Souths Logan)

Sunshine Coast Falcons v Norths Devils (Gympie – Albert Park, Saturday 3.30pm):

* Fourth Cup game in Gympie, last in 2016; Second game there for Sunshine Coast; First for Norths

* Sunshine Coast beat Tweed 28-16 there in 2016

* Head-to-Head: Sunshine Coast 14 Norths 14

* Last match: 2026 Rd 11: Sunshine Coast 32 def Norths 12 (Premiers Park)

* Sunshine Coast have won four of the past five games between these two sides

* 200th Cup game: Jack Ahearn (SL/Red/Nor)

* Jack Miers requires four goals to bring up 100 in Cup

* 50th Cup game for Norths: Jerome Veve (82nd overall SL/Ips/TH/Nor)

Central Queensland Capras v Brisbane Tigers (Blackwater – Hinricks Oval, Saturday, 3.40pm):

* Sixth Cup game in Blackwater, last in 2013; Central played in all previous five games there, won three, lost two; First for Tigers

* Head-to-Head: Tigers 40 Central 12 Drawn 4

* Last match: 2026 Rd 2: Tigers 36 def Central 22 (Totally Workwear Stadium)

* Tigers have won five of the past eight games between these two sides with two drawn

* Tigers require 35 points to bring up 17,000 in Cup – they have 15,004 against

* Connor Broadhurst requires one try to bring up 50 in Cup

* Trey Brown requires four points to bring up 500 in Cup, all for Central

* 50th Cup game: Rodrick Tai (PNG/Cen)

* Kea Pere requires two tries to bring up 50 in Cup

Mackay Cutters v Redcliffe Dolphins (Clermont – Clermont Sports Ground, Saturday 5pm):

* Third Cup game in Clermont, last in 2017; First game there for Mackay; Second game for Redcliffe

* Redcliffe beat Central 42-6 there in 2017

* Head-to-Head: Redcliffe 18 Mackay 9 Drawn 2

* Last match: 2025 Rd 23: Redcliffe 34 def Mackay 16 (Kayo Stadium)

* Redcliffe have won the past seven games between these two sides

* Mackay have won only one (2019) of the past 14 games between these two sides with one drawn (2018)

* Redcliffe require 21 points to bring up 19,000 in Cup – they have 13,390 against

* Josh James (382) has passed Greg Bourke (380) to become fourth all-time Cup points scorer for Redcliffe. He requires 11 points to bring up 400 points in Cup including seven for Souths Logan

Townsville Blackhawks v Burleigh Bears (Ayr – Bendigo Bank Park, Saturday 6pm):

* Fourth Cup game in Ayr, last in 2022; Second game there for Townsville; first game for Burleigh

* Townsville drew with  Redcliffe 22-all there in 2022

* Head-to-Head: Burleigh 9 Townsville 6 Drawn 2

* Last match: 2025 Rd 13: Townsville 28 def Burleigh 26 (UAA Park)

* Townsville have won five of their past six games with one drawn

* Burleigh have won five of the past seven games between these two sides with one drawn

* Dudley Dotoi's four tries last week brought up his 50 in the Cup – he now has 51 tries in 47 games for the Blackhawks

* 100th Cup game: Lee Turner Rau (TH/Bur)

* 50th Cup game: Mason Teague (Red/Nor/Bur)

Tweed Seagulls v Wynnum Manly Seagulls (Warwick – Father Ranger Oval, Sunday, 2.10pm):

* Fourth Cup game in Warwick, last in Round 8 this year; first game there for both sides

* Head-to-Head: Wynnum 29 Tweed 17

* Last match: 2025 Rd 1: Wynnum 38 def Tweed 28 (Piggabeen)

* Tweed have lost their last three games

* Wynnum have won the past three, and nine of the past 10 games between these two sides

* Lindon McGrady requires three goals to bring up 500 goals in Cup

* 50th Cup game: Jamal Shibasaki (Tsv/Mky/Pride/Wyn)

Sunday's feature match, presented by National Storage, will be broadcast live and free on Qplus.tv, Kayo and 9Now.