Dolphins Dish Out Painful Defeat

REDCLIFFE has shown no mercy to old sparring partner Burleigh, inflicting a record fourth straight loss on the Bears with a 36-10 effort at Dolphin Oval on Sunday.

Never before have the Bears conceded four losses in a row in the Queensland Wizard Cup, having entered in the competition?s second season, 1997.

Even considering that Burleigh is a traditional slow starter, the warning signs are there that the Miami mob may miss the finals cut for just the second time in the past decade.

It?s not a point that Anthony Griffin and the Redcliffe Dolphins will lament for too long. The ?Phins had not conquered the Bears in five previous attempts before the weekend.

?There were two main motivating points for us,? coach Griffin revealed,

?We hadn?t beaten them in a long time and we knew we?d move into the outright lead on the ladder if we won.

?There?s a respect you have for Burleigh because of where they?ve been and we prepared for the game knowing they?d be desperate. Sure enough they came at us with a lot of urgency and played quick on us.?

However Burleigh went into the match without captain and hooker Ryan Gundry, while utility Jamie Russo also succumbed to injury and couldn?t suit up against his old team.

Redcliffe had its own worries, losing Duane O?grady (back) and Adam Starr (abdomen) late in the week, but finding more-than-capable replacements in Troy Lindsay and Darren Glase.

In his first game back from knee injury Lindsay played just 30 minutes before being rested for the remainder.

At 30-4 in the 55th minute Redcliffe had the result in the bag and eased up considerably over the home stretch, also resting Grant Flugge

Best for the victors were forwards Danny Burke and Gerard Parle, while Chris Fox and Shane Perry were dangerous on the fringes.

The match was the first time that Redcliffe had met Burleigh since losing the 2005 preliminary final 24-19 courtesy of a try in the final two minutes.

Redcliffe clashes with Norths in the first ABC TV Live match at 2pm next Saturday, while Burleigh has a battle against Wynnum Manly on Sunday at 3pm at Pizzey Park.

REDCLIFFE 36 (Chris Fox 2, Pat Gardner, Shane Perry, Ryan Cullen, Adam Fletcher tries; Greg Bourke 6 goals) d BURLEIGH 10 (Luke Millwood, Jordan Atkins tries; Trent Leis goal) at Dolphin Oval.

This article is courtesy of the QRL for more Queensland Wizard Cup information visit www.qrl.com.au