Queensland Cup - Week 2 -Semi
Finals

Grand Final day at Dolphin Oval on September 20 is tantalizingly close for the four sides still alive in the 2003 Queensland Cup.

The winner of Saturday?s major semi-final between 2002 premiers Redcliffe Dolphins and 2003 minor premiers, Burleigh Bears will advance straight to the grand final. Redcliffe beat Burleigh 22-18 at Pizzey Park in round four but then the Bears got revenge at Dolphin Oval in round 13 with a memorable 34-28 win.

So this match could go either way and it shapes as one of the showpiece encounters of the year on ABC Television.

Burleigh had a bye last weekend as the other four sides in the finals battled it out with Redcliffe beating a brave Ipswich Jets 28-22 at Dolphin oval and Wynnum Seagulls coming from behind to defeat Tweed Heads Seagulls 40-22 at Kougari Oval in the elimination final.

Ipswich are now in the position of sudden death football after their loss to Redcliffe and they will do it tough despite the home ground advantage with Coach, Trevor Gillmeister?s side ravaged by injuries.

In round 10 at Kougari Wynnum thrashed Ipswich 44-18 and again in round 20 the Seagulls were too good for the Jets winning 26-12 at Bendigo Bank Oval.

But on that day Ipswich lost several key players early in the match through injury and they did not recover from those setbacks.

The winner of Saturday's match will play the loser of the Redcliffe ? Burleigh match next Saturday in the preliminary final with this match also to be televised by the ABC.

The curtain-raiser to tomorrow's Pizzey Park clash is the major semi-final of the mixwell Colts Challenge with minor premiers, Norths playing Redcliffe. The winner advances to the grand final while the loser plays Burleigh next Saturday.

The curtain-raiser at Bendigo Bank Oval is the major semi-final in the Mixwell Cup A grade premiership with Wynnum playing Redcliffe. The winner will advance to the grand final while the loser will play Norths next Saturday.

Brothers Valleys will hold a function tomorrow in conjunction with NRL affiliate, St George Illawarra, with prominent ?Dragons? in attendance. Phone 3252 1877 for details.

On Tuesday night Tattersall?s Club in the city will host The Courier-Mail Brisbane Best and Fairest function. The award, the oldest of its kind in Australia, brings with it an impressive trophy and a cheque for $3,000. Last year?s winner was Scott Thorburn from Easts while Adam Mogg and Jason Balgarelli, both now with the Canberra Raiders, were the winners in 2001 and 2000 respectively.

Other awards on the night include Carbine Club Colt of the year; Club Championship trophy from Spotless Services Catering; the Mixwell Cup A grade and Colts players of the year; Referee of the year; Coach of the year and Representative player of the year. The ABC?s Warren Boland will be M.C. with Steve Ricketts of the Courier-Mail to present the main prize.

The Brisbane Second Division XXXX Player of the Year awards presentation night will be held at Souths Acacia Leagues Club, Acacia Ridge on Friday, September 26 at 7.00pm.

The Sunstate Airlines Queensland Cup player of the year will be named at the grand final luncheon at Redcliffe Leagues Club on September 20. The winner of this award receives a trip for two people to Honolulu courtesy of Qantas Airlines.