Queensland Cup Round 6 Review

Burleigh has destroyed any notion of rival Tweed Heads holding the wood over it, battering the Seagulls with a 38-18 win at the Piggabeen Complex.

Although the reigning champion, Burleigh lost twice to neighbour Tweed last year and matches between the two clubs have a history of intense passion.

The latest match had extra spice with two former Tweed boys, Balin Cupples and Adrian Vowles, playing a prominent part in the result.

Cupples scored two tries for the Bears, while Vowles marked his comeback to the Queensland Cup with a strong performance at lock.

Having lost Robert Apanui the previous week to a dislocated shoulder, Burleigh was further depleted when his replacement Kris Flint suffered a medial ligament tear. Vowles came on in Flint's spot and played out the majority of the match.

?Vowles was thrown in their pretty early and he did well considering what has been a limited preparation,? coach Rick Stone said.

?He was originally going to play for us at the end of last season, but other work opportunities came up and he missed the pre-season.

?Now he?s got a job with one of our sponsors, Alan Ikin, and he?s been back training maybe six weeks. I think he showed today he will be very valuable.?

At 12-all at halftime, it looked as though another thriller was on the cards, but despite the standard of play remaining high, Burleigh relentlessly edged ahead in the second half.

Forwards Ali Brown, Martin Griese and Adam Huntchinson all performed well, while usually attacking centre Trent Leis got through a mountain of work in defence.

Making the victory even more meritorious for the Bears, hooker Ryan Gundry was sin-binned early for a professional foul.

Burleigh remains equal first with Easts as it prepares to face off against Central in next Saturday?s televised match. Tweed Heads has stagnated in seventh and is due to battle Souths Logan at Davies Park, also on Saturday.

BURLEIGH 38 (Balin Cupples 2, Reggie Cressbrook, Trent Purdon, Aseri Laing, David Hicks, Kris Flint tries; Reggie Cressbrook 5 goals)

beat TWEED HEADS 18 (Tim Maccan, Cory Bond, Andrew Moroney). ___________________

The presence of Test star Dane Carlaw has helped Toowoomba overcome an ailing Wynnum, with the Clydesdales running out 47-16 winners at Kougari Oval.

It wasn?t too long ago at the Queensland Wizard Cup launch that Clydesdales coach John Dixon lauded the Seagulls as the premiership favourites.

?They have to be,? he said, acknowledging the talented squad Neil Wharton had at his disposal.

But on the weekend as spectators left the ground, they used the word ?outclassed? to describe Wynnum and ?far too good? to sum up Toowoomba.

It didn?t help that the Seagulls were without Paul Green, Danny McAllister, Damian Durnford and recent departure Grant Wooden, while also losing skipper Damien Quinn over the course of the match.

But there were plenty of other reasons Toowoomba were in front 23-4 at halftime, not the least the blistering speed of their outside men.

Having Carlaw back for a rare State League appearance didn?t hurt either, neither did the continued improvement of recent high school graduates Steve Michaels and Greg Eastwood.

Both of the Gold Coast kids finished with two tries, as did rough and ready Joe Clarke, while Aaron Barba scored a try, kicked a goal and potted a field goal for good measure.

The match marked the first time that Barba had gone up against his old mentor in Wharton. It was also the first time Toowoomba had met Wynnum since an extra time loss to the Gulls in last year?s finals.

Toowoomba?s win sees it move to fourth on the table, while Wynnum is off the pace at present, residing in eighth spot.

Next weekend the Clydesdales play Norths at Bishop Park on Sunday, while across town the same down Wynnum will host North Queensland.

TOOWOOMBA 47 (Steve Michaels 2, Joe Clarke 2, Greg Eastwood 2, Aaron Barba, Ian Lacey, Tame Tupou tries; Greg Eastwood 3, Aaron Barba, Sam Thaiday goals) beat

WYNNUM 16 (Simon Phillips, John Bruce, Clayton Maher tries; Jace Van Dijk 2 goals). __________________

Rarely has the coach of a team been so unimpressed with a 52-10 win.

Arriving back from Rockhampton, Easts? Michael Booth sounded as though he were already in the process of setting fire to the match video.

Winners his team may have been, but grinners they were certainly not, having ended the game with some of the most inept handling one could imagine.

?It was a pretty ordinary game I thought,? Booth said, seemingly uncaring of the 42-point advantage.

?We must have put on four or five tries in that 15 minutes after halftime and from then it was just crap.

?We dropped off, put the cue in the rack basically.?

Mark Cantoni was Easts ?best by far? in the mind of Booth, while Leigh Coghill continued his good form and hooker Steve Goodhew created havoc in the hot conditions.

Cantoni finished with three tries, while Goodhew collected a double.

Winners in five of their first six games, Easts lead the competition with a for-and-against to be envied by every other team, including Burleigh.

Central, on the other hand, has kept its opposition below 30 just once this season and since the bye in round three, has conceded 154 points in three games.

The Comets average just 16 points per game in attack over the course of the season thus far, having experienced one of the largest turnovers of playing staff in the Queensland Wizard Cup.

From the last time Easts played Central in round 14 of 2004, only six players still remain with the Comets.

Next week sees Easts experience the bye, while Central takes on Burleigh in Saturday?s televised game from Pizzey Park.

EASTS 52 (Mark Cantoni 3, Steve Goodhew 2, Steve Beattie, Jason Connors, Brandon Costin, Leigh Coghill tries; Brandon Costin 6, Leigh Coghill, Dallas Hood goals)

beat

CENTRAL 10 (Wade Rothery, Herewini Rangi tries; Herewini Rangi goal). __________________

He arrived in Ipswich from the remote Gulf community of Napranum and his favourite book is Bryce Courtenay?s Power of One.

On Saturday Gordon Rattler wrote the latest chapter in his remarkable tale with a match-winning try in a 30-26 victory over Souths Logan at QLD Group Stadium.

Rattler capped a fantastic comeback by Ipswich, which at one stage trailed 20-12 in a battle of two teams looking for their first win of the season.

Pressed for space near the right sideline, the 22-year-old winger somehow evaded a handful of defenders, slicing though in the 77th minute for the deciding play.

Previously Rattler was a star player for the Napranum Bulldogs, the pride of a 1000 strong town on the west coast of Cape York.

He has had to work hard to maintain his place in the Queensland Cup, but his try was exactly the sort of thing Ipswich coach Trevor Gillmeister has been crying out for. Before the match against the Magpies, Ipswich had the worst attacking record in the league, scoring just 62 points in four games.

For Souths Logan it was again a tale of the one that got away. Previously the Magpies had led in games against Burleigh and Wynnum, only to be run down over the course of the second half.

They were in front 26-24 until Rattler?s knockout punch, with centre Bob Blair scoring an inspired hat-trick. It was Blair?s first game for a fortnight after he traveled to Bundaberg to attend the funeral of his grandmother.

Controversy surrounded a decision to award a second half try to Ipswich flyer Luke Walker, who toyed with the sideline before crossing out wide.

The Magpies and Central remain the only teams in the competition without a win after six rounds, while Ipswich has, at least for the moment, skipped clear of the cellar.

Next week sees Souths Logan host Tweed Heads at Davies Park on Saturday, while Ipswich looks to keep the ball rolling in Sunday?s Dolphin Oval showdown against Redcliffe.

IPSWICH 30 (Andy Poynter 2, Brendon Lindsay, Luke Walker, Gordon Rattler tries; Brendon Lindsay 4, Gordon Rattler goals)

beat

SOUTHS LOGAN 26 (Bob Blair 3 tries; Scott Smith 7 goals). __________________

North Queensland has shot into third place on the Queensland Wizard Cup ladder with a commanding 34-16 win over Redcliffe at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

With a massive crowd in attendance for the proceeding NRL match between the Cowboys and Wests Tigers, the Young Guns strung together their third successive win.

The change from a few hundred spectators at Davies Park in round five to 20,000 in Townsville seemingly didn?t faze the club?s youth brigade, with the home side up 16-12 at halftime.

A more dominant second stanza brought another three tries, but the defence limited Redcliffe to just one four-pointer in the final 40 minutes.

Following wins against the Dolphins, Souths Logan and Burleigh in the last three rounds, North Queensland has erased a worrying start to the season

Grant Bell?s tenure as Young Guns coach had begun with the team outclassed in clashes against Toowoomba and Easts, and arguably lucky to beat Norths by two points.

The loss of David Faiumu and Jaiman Lowe to NRL duty this week threatened to upset the rhythm, particularly considering Lowe was the team?s best in round five.

However, the direction of the squad did not waver, Bell noting earlier in the week that halfback Brent McConnell was slotting in well and beginning to impose his influence.

McConnell notched two tries in the second half, important in a week when fellow half Kieran Kerr elected to return to New South Wales.

Former Redcliffe players Charles Vis and Gavin Cooper were also point scorers in the match against their old club.

The loss leaves Redcliffe just outside the top five in sixth spot, equal with three wins and three losses at this stage of the season.

Next week sees the Dolphins at home to Ipswich on Sunday, while North Queensland tackles Wynnum at Kougari Oval the same day.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 34 (Brent McConnell 2, Charles Vis, Daniel Strickland, Matthew Scott, Dean Payne tries; Brent McConnell 4, Gavin Cooper goals)

beat

REDCLIFFE 16 (Phil Shilvock, Shane Perry, Nathan Herbener tries; Greg Bourke 2 goals).

Thanks to the guys at http://www.qrl.com.au for another top article.