Young Guns
Play Burliegh in Queensland Wizard Cup Final

Trent Leis has booked himself a fourth grand final appearance after scoring the deciding try two minutes from fulltime in Burleighs 24-19 preliminary final win against Redcliffe. Returning from a Shane Perry field goal in the 76th minute Redcliffe was asleep to a short kick-off, allowing the Bears to regather and work their way to the winning try.

A large and appreciative Pizzey Park crowd erupted at the play, sending the Bears to a third successive grand final and giving them an opportunity to defend last year's crown.

It could very well have been an afternoon of heartbreak for the Miami club however, having led for the majority of the match before giving Redcliffe a late sniff of victory.

Indeed, when Liam Georgetown scored and converted to tie the game 18-all in the 70th minute, there was a sense the Dolphins could clinch their third sudden death victory in a row.

Perrys arching field goal from 40m out brought instant recollections of Redcliffe's 23-22 win to knock out Toowoomba a fortnight ago.

The leading exponent of the drop-goal in the Queensland Wizard Cup, Perry cleared a crowded advance of defenders with his kick, before a stiff coastal breeze carried it over the crossbar.

Burleigh had the upper hand 12-2 at halftime, but lost hooker Matt Doeg with a nasty shoulder injury and had two tries disallowed in the same period.

In total video referee Tony Maksoud was called upon thrice throughout the afternoon to adjudicate on Burleigh tries, allowing two but showing the red light to a screamer by Jeremy Lateo.

Equal parts athleticism and size, 103kg Lateo caught and dropped a ball onto his foot in one motion before teammate Reggie Cressbrook scooped up the pill. Cressbrook then fought with two defenders to lob the ball out the back, leaving Lateo to wrap around, collect and sprint to the line.

Unfortunately for the Bears, Cressbrook was deemed to have been offside from the kick.

The second half saw far more penetration for Redcliffe, attacking the wing of Burleigh rookie Darius Boyd with both kicks and power running.

A successful 40-20 kick to the region brought dividends, before lock Danny Green crossed to the right of the posts in the 50th minute. Nick Emmett then caught out the rookie again, attracting two men before flicking to unmarked Phil Shilvock on his outside in the 59th minute.

In the end, Redcliffe went perilously close to becoming the first team outside the top three to qualify for a grand final.

Burleigh's date with destiny comes at 2pm at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday, pitted against the rampant North Queensland Toyota Young Guns.

The Toyota Young Guns has beaten Burleigh three times this year and has not tasted defeat in its past 14 games.

The NQ Toyota Young Guns Team to play the Wizard Cup Grand Final has been announced.

CLUB: NORTH QUEENSLAND TOYOTA YOUNG GUNS Vs Burleigh GRADE: QLD Wizard Cup Grand Final Suncorp Stadium 17/09/2005 2pm

TEAM LIST 1 Jason Barsley 2 Neil Sweeney 3 David Myles 4 Gavin Cooper 5 Dean Payne 6 Shane Muspratt 7 Brent McConnell 8 Jaiman Lowe 9 Clint Amos 10 Matthew Scott 11 Mark Dalle Cort 12 Daniel Strickland ? 13 Leigh McWilliams

INTERCHANGE 14 Rory Bromley 15 Scott Bolton 16 Wallace Solomona 17 Jimmy Anderson