QLD CUP: Match reports for Round 2

Match reports, results and standings for all matches in Round Two of the Queensland Wizard Cup.

REDCLIFFE 22 d ASPLEY 12

LIKE two cagey fighters climbing back in the ring, heavyweights Redcliffe and Aspley showed touches of class while saving their best for the coming rounds as the Dolphins prevailed 22-12 on Saturday.

In a game which was tied nil-all at halftime, Redcliffe managed to just hang on after jumping out to an 18-0 lead after the break.

Aspley could have so easily tied up the match 18-all in the closing moments with a strip and try disallowed to giant teen David Taylor under what were controversial circumstances. Taylor looked to have won the ball fairly and squarely after running out of marker and pick-pocketing scooter Matt Harris, but referee Clayton Sharpe saw the matter differently.

Then in the shades of fulltime Nick Emmett crossed at the other end of the paddock for Redcliffe, breaking through feeble defence for a victorious 10-point margin.

While Aspley may have been up in arms about the Taylor decision, the Broncos had given themselves little margin for error with a forgettable 56 per cent completion rate throughout the game. Redcliffe could have even described the game-deciding play as karma, having been denied a try to Ryan Cullen in the second minute of the game via a debatable offside call.

Video replays showed Cullen hitting the line at speed just as Mick Roberts put through a deft grubber, with video adjudicator Tony Maksoud ruling his front foot ahead of the kicker.

The irrepressible pair eventually got their own however, hitting back in the 54th minute with a spectacular four-pointer that established a 10-0 lead. Roberts shot out of hooker near halfway, ran 25m and then kicked skillfully off the outside of his boot, leaving the ball sitting up nicely for Cullen to pounce in-goal.

It was the most attractive play of a match that was otherwise more notable for its defence.

Among the highlights was a jolting first half hit by the much-improved Lachlan Morgan on Pat Gardner, leaving the latter requiring assistance before battling on bravely. Closely behind Morgan