Due to the Broncos Colts having to forfeit their game in the Toowoomba competition because of the injury toll at the Broncos (how ironic given some of our teams' problems!), the Redcliffe/Easts elimination final was transferred to Suncorp Stadium as the curtain-raiser to the Broncos/West Tigers clash. Unfortunately the terrible weather kept the crowd low, nonetheless the two team turned on a tight match which went right down to the wire. Easts opened the scoring in the 9th minute through a good try to David Tyrrell which was converted. Redcliffe struck back 8 minutes later with a good try in the corner, and this turned out to be the last time the scorer was bothered in the first half, Easts taking a 6-4 lead to the break. The teams traded converted tries in the first 5 minutes of the second half, with Redcliffe taking the lead from theirs, only to see Easts hit back with a length-of-the-field effort 2 minutes later. The score remained locked at 12-10 to Easts for the next 20 minutes with neither side able to break the defence, although Easts were denied a try when a touch judge ruled obstruction after their lock had dived over from dummy-half with only 5 minutes remaining. From that penalty Redcliffe went the length of the field and scored in the corner to take a 14-12 lead with 3 minutes remaining. The Tigers attacked desperately in the closing minutes but were unable to breach the Dolphin defence and Redcliffe kept their season alive with a 14-12 victory.
By the Minute:
9th min: Easts try/conv; Easts 6-0
17th min: Redcliffe try; Easts 6-4 (ht)
33rd min: Redcliffe try/conv; Redcliffe 10-6
36th min: Easts try/conv; Easts 12-10
56th min: Redcliffe try; Redcliffe 14-12 (ft)
The first game at Emerson Park saw a mad dash across town for a number of Redlands and Logan Bros players following the completion of the finals of the state rugby championship at Indooroopilly just after 12 noon. In heavy conditions, the first half was a real slog, with Redlands scoring an unconverted try to lead early, only to see Logan Bros take the lead with a converted try soon after. Redlands drew level with a penalty goal just before the break, but Logan Bros would enter the second half with the wind and the downhill run. Logan Bros indeed broke the deadlock with a converted try to lead 12-6, although this time the Parakeets struck back to trail by only 2. Redlands threw everything at Redlands but the Logan Bros defence held amd right on fulltime they wrapped up the match 16-10 with an unconverted try of their own. This really was a high quality game and both teams were exhausted at the end of a thrilling match.
Progress Scores:
Redlands: 4-0; 4-6; 6-6 (ht) ; 6-12; 10-12; 10-16 (ft)
The final game of the day at Emerson Park saw Souths up against Arana, who were welcoming back Dean, Rohan, Alex F and Jozey, although Brent and Rob were ruled out with the flu virus that is plaguing a nimber of sides. Arana started well but just couldn't get the ball down across the line, having two tries disallowed in the first 10 minutes for a forward pass and offside from a kick. The Panthers finally broke through in the 15th minute when Matt H scored. Geoff's conversion took the score to 6-0, but Souths, who were playing a mistake-free brand of football (they in fact did not make a handling mistake till the 12th minute of the second half) struck back quickly from a repeat set after a penalty to level the scores. A try to Mitchell 5 minutes before half-time saw Arana take a 10-6 lead to the break, and loke Logan Bros earlier they would have the wind and the slope with them in the second half. It was the Magpies however who struck first in the second half with a length-of-the-field effort from a scrum after 2 minutes, and were desperately unlucky not to go further ahead 3 minutes later when they had a try disallowed for offside after some brilliant work by Mase. Arana steadied however and three tries in seven minutes, including 2 setup by Dean in his first match back from a broken arm, took them to a 24-12 lead with 11 mins to go. Souths attacked strongly fro the next 5 minutes but the Panther goal-line defence held and when Alex T knocked over a penalty goal from 35m out after he was held down after a mid-field break they were out of the Magpie's reach. A last minute try to Souths brought the final score to 26-18 to Arana. Both sides played solid football without being spectacular and would both be looking for improvement for next week's matches, although it was good to see most players get through the match injury-free!
Stats:
Penalties: 6-6
Completions: Arana: 21/28 (75%); Souths: 25/30 (83%)
By the minute:
15th min: Matt try/Geoff conv; Arana 6-0
19th min: Souths try/conv; 6-6
25th min: Mitchell try; Arana 10-6 (ht)
32nd min: Souths try/conv; Souths 12-10
42nd min: Will try; Arana 14-12
45th min: Mitchell try/Geoff conv; Arana 20-12
49th min: Jozey try; Arana 24-12
57th min: Alex T pg; Arana 26-12
59th min: Souths try/conv; Arana 26-18 (ft)
The weekend's results see the Tigers to hang up their boots for 2003, and no doubt they will be back bigger and better next year after they showed steady improvement throughout the year. Logan Bros now get a somewhat unexpected week off while Redlands and Arana battle out the Qualifying Final, and Souths and Redcliffe shape up in the Elimination Semi. .
Brad T
17/8/2003
