Central Queensland
Comets 24
Tries: Wade
Rothery 2, Justin Loomans 2, Heath Eggleston
Goals: Ken
Graham 2
defeated Ipswich
Jets 18
Tries: Craig
Green, Andrew Hamilton, Chris Lawler
Goals: Chris
Lawler 3
Venue: First
Provincial Oval
Date: Sat July 1
Comments: The Comets still
remain in touch for a finals berth after
a win against the Ipswich Jets. Central
got off to a good start when centre Scott
Minto got an inside pass from Ian
Dunemann and then gave it to Wade Rothery
who scored the try. They were unlucky to
score again moments later when Dunemann
looked to have grounded the ball just
before it went dead. However, Rob
Alexander ruled it no try but replays
suggest the ref made the wrong decision.
None-the-less, the Comets made up for
that with a try in the 18th minute.
Graham White put up a bomb (then latter
hit by a blatant elbow by Jet Shane Ward,
who should have been sent off) and Heath
Eggleston plucked it out of an Ipswich
defender to put the ball over the line.
Ipswich weren't having any luck at all
and Justin Loomans added to the their
woes when, right on fulltime, he put on a
try with a tremendous kick and chase
effort. The Comets led 14-0 at halftime.Ipswich came out
after the break and put themselves back
into the game when captain Chris Lawler
ran through a gaping hole in the Comets
defence and went over for the home sides'
first points of the game. The Jets sliced
Central's lead to 2 when Andrew Hamilton
barged his over feeble defence to put
them well back into the game. However,
the Comets replied directly after Ipswich
knocked on from the kick-off. From the
ensuring scrum, the ball was eventually
passed to Loomans and he scored out wide.
But the home side would not give up that
easily and drew level again when Lawler
put Craig Green into a gap for the try.
The game was hanging in the balance and
the Jets were looking like they were
going to snatch this game out of
Central's hands. However, Wade Rothery's
second try for the game seeled the win
for the Comets with 7 minutes to go on
the clock. Rothery ran onto a pass,
through a hole and sprinted 55 metres to
put the ball under the posts. Central
home by 6 points and look to have
effectively put Ipswich out of the race
for the semi-finals.
Logan City Scorpions 24
Tries: Paul
Fisher 2, Sean Ireland, David Bouveng,
Damien Flint
Goals: Grant Dutton 2
defeated Wests
Panthers 22
Tries: Jason
Bulgarelli, Cameron Roper, Tom Pritchard,
Craig Thurston
Goals: Nathan
Webber 3
Venue: Purtell Park
Date:
Sat July 1
Comments: Yet another
close loss to the Panthers at home. Logan
scraped home by 2 points in what was
their first ever win at Purtell Park. The
Scorpions jump ahead of Ipswich on the
ladder and , somehow, have a slim chance
of still slipping into the top 5 if a lot
of luck goes with them. As for the
Panthers, so many times this year they
have been in a good position to win a
game but somehow have fallen short of the
mark at fulltime.
Toowoomba
Clydesdales 64
Tries: Justin
Hodges 3, Carl Webb 3, Dennis White 3,
Junior Pelesasa, Neale Wyatt, Jace Van Dijk
Goals: Jace Van Dijk 8
defeated
Cairns Cyclones 12
Tries: Tim
Kopp, Shannon Furber
Goals: Scott
Williamson 2
Venue: Athletic Oval
Date: Sat July 1
Comments: The
Clydesdales had a field day against the
hapless Cairns and racked up over 60
points. Toowoomba scored 12 tries with
Justin Hodges, Carl Webb and Dennis White
all scoring hat-tricks. The home side led
28-6 at halftime and romped home in the
second. The Cyclones were simply no match
for their opponents and will be trying to
be at least competitive in the remaining
three matches of the preliminary rounds.
Burleigh Bears 30
Tries: Aaron Douglas 2,
Reggie Cressbrook, Nick Shaw, Grant Adamson
Goals: Reggie Cressbrook 5
defeated Norths
Devils 16
Tries: Gus McKellar,
Andrew Duncan, John Paul Cherry
Goals: Marty
Turner 2
Venue: Bishop Park
Date: Sun July 2
Comments: Burleigh
continue their good form with a very good
win against the Norths Devils at Bishop
Park. The Bears have now won 6 games in a
row and are ready to mount a serious
challenge for the Bundy Gold Cup. This
loss means that the Devils are still not
certainties to make the top 5 and are
within breathing space of the Comets, who
are only 2 points behind. Although Norths
are likely to make the finals, they will
have improve dramatically if they are to
go any further than the first week.
Redcliffe Dolphins 22
Tries: Damien Richters 2,
Rod West, George Wilson
Goals: Damien
Richters 3
defeated
Wynnum Seagulls 8
Tries: Anthony Choice,
John Plath
Venue: Dolphin Oval
Date: Sun July 2
Comments: Redcliffe have
retained the Herald Cup and top spot on
the ladder courtesy of a win against the
Seagulls. The first half of the game was
a tough, dour struggle with both sides
failing take their chances when offered.
The Seagulls put the first points on the
board with a try to Anthony Choice and
Redcliffe replied in the 30th minute
thanks to a Damien Richters 4 pointer. At
halftime, nothing could separate the
teams and the score was 4 all.
The
opening minutes of the second half was a
carbon copy of the first half but
Richters broke the deadlock with a
penalty goal going to Redcliffe. However,
that lead was short lived when ex-Bronco
John Plath gave Wynnum it's second try of
the match and put them back in front. It
was a rather spiteful match and
frustrations finally brewed over in the
60th minute when an all-in-brawl finally
broke out. As the officials calmed things
down, Dolphins' reserve Russell Lahiff
and Seagulls' captain Ricky Taylor were
sent off by referee Darren McKenzie
obviously for fighting. From this point
onwards, Redcliffe took full control of
the game and tries to Richters, George
Wilson (who has just come back from a stint
in Rugby Union) and Rod West resulted in
the final 20 minutes of the game.
Easts Tigers 32
Tries: Paul Hubbard 2,
Aseri Laing 2, Gavin Allan, Scott
Thorburn, Mark Mom
Goals: Scott Thorburn 2
defeated Souths
Magpies 12
Tries: Henry Fa'afili,
Marco Peters
Goals: Andrew
Murdoch 2
Venue: Davies Park
Date: Sun July 2
Comments: The Tigers are
hot on Redcliffe's heels with a
comfortable win against the Magpies.
Easts scored 7 tries to Souths' 2 but
Scott Thorburn had an off day with the
boot, saving the home side from an even
larger defeat. The Tigers retain second
spot but would no doubt be willing to
wrest top position off Redcliffe if the
Dolphins do falter in any of the
remaining matches of the preliminary
rounds.
|
