DAY 4: Sunday May 18
Another fine warm day for the closing of the carnival, although there was a bit of a nip still in the air when the first games kicked off at 8.00am. On the Junior Field South West and North West met for the "wooden spoon" in the first game, and although it was tight early, South West eventually got on top to lead 16-8 at the break and 26-8 at full-time. The Consolation Cup decided that followed this game was a real thriller with the lead changing on several occasions before Capricornia eventually ran out 29-26 winners over Peninsula to claim the prize.
In the first game on the main field, Darling Downs met with the injury ravaged Met West side to decide 7th place. The first half was a close affair with Darling Downs opening the scoring in the 9th minute, only to see Met West hit back 3 minutes later. Five minutes later Darling Downs were back in front, but Lauchlan Witt's second try for Met West saw them take a 12-10 lead to the break. Met West went further ahead 4 minutes into the second half with another converted try, but the Darling Downs forward pack was starting to get on top, and two tries in two minutes to prop Chris Kaarsberg saw the Darling Downs side take the lead with 12 minutes remaining. Met West's handling deterirated more the longer the game went on, and the Downs side wrapped up the match with a try with 5 minutes remaining to seal a 26-18 victory.
Stats: Pens: DD 3-1; Scrums: DD 8-4; Completions: DD: 17/25, Met West 11/24
The second game saw Met North tackle Wide Bay for 5th position. Met North started well with a try to Jozey in the first minute, but were rocked soon after with the loss of Isaac with a broken collarbone in his first hit-up, joining Rohan, who was unable to play due to yesterday's injury, on the sideline. The team stayed focussed however, with Jozey crossing for his second try in the 8th minute to give the hosts a 10-0 cushion. Met North were playing some great attacking football, and they were rewarded with a hat-trick of tries to Alex T in the 11th, 19th and 25th minutes to take a 24-0 lead to halftime. Wide Bay came out firing in the second half, scoring two converted tries in the first five minutes to narrow the margin to 12, and when halfback Josh Costello scored a brilliant individual "chip-and chase" try from within his own 20 with 6 minutes remaining only a converted try separated the teams. However a try from TJ with 2 minutes to go wrapped up a 30-18 win for the Met North with Jozey picking up Man-of-the-Match honours.
Met North 28 (Alex Tallon 3, Jozey Stubicar 2, TJ Tavau tries; Luke Samoa 2/3; Jed Fuller 1/3 goals) def Wide Bay 18 (Josh Costello, Will Dangerfield, Billy Rogers tries; Josh Costello 2/2, Chris Sandow 1/1 goals) (HT MN 24-0)
Penalties: MN 6-4; Scrums: Wide Bay 6-4 (1 to MN agst feed); Completed Sets: MN: 17/28 WB: 17/23
Top Tacklers: Jozey Stubicar 22; Brendan Altadonna 14; Matt Handcock 13; Clayton Hoet/Nash Rylands 10.
Top Hit-Ups: Jozey Stubicar/Alex Tallon 8; Mitchell Carr/Alex Fresta/Matt Handcock 7
In the third game of the day, Northern once again started very well to lead Sunshine Coast, who were without Simona due to a leg injury sustained yesterday, 18-0 in as many minutes. The Sunshine Coast side fought back well in the closing stages of the half and were rewarded with 2 tries in the final 4 minutes before the break to go in only 8 points down. The margin was reduced to only 2 points when halfback Matt Gillette crossed for his second try only 3 minutes into the second half, but this was as close as the Sunshine Coast would get, with poor handling and fatigue taking its toll in the closing stages allowing Northern to run in three more tries for a 36-16 victory.
Stats: Pens: Northern 2-1; Scrums: Sun Cst 7-5; Completions: Northern: 17/28, Sun Cst 13/23
The final game of the carnival, the championship decider, was played between Met East and South Coast, the same two finalists as last year - and what a game it was. The first half was enthralling with neither side giving an inch, and breaks hard to come by through the rock solid defence. South Coast were first to get the ball over the line with only 3 minutes remaining in the half, but the last pass was called forward. Met East capitalised brilliantly on this decision to take the ball to the other end with Fraser Evans crossing wide out as the half time bell sounded. Vaughan converted brilliantly from the sideline to give the Met East boys a 6-0 halftime lead. The second half was just as tight as the first with Met East clinging to their lead through a number of attacking raids. With 10 minutes remaining Nathan seemed certain to have scored but was ruled to have dropped it short of the line. Sunshine Coast finally broke through the Met East defence when they recovered a kick for centre Martin Paulsen to score wide out, but his attemoted conversion swung well wide to leave Met East 2 points up with 4 minutes to play. South Coast kicked out on the full from the ensuing set, seemingly gifting Met East the match, however they knocked on from the ensuing scrum and South Coast were given one last sniff if victory. Following a penalty for a high shot, South Coast mounted a last attacking raid, and fullback Daniel Isacc, who has had a great carnival, stormed over from 30 metres out, to take South Coast to the lead for the first time in the match. The final hooter sounded as Paulsen lined up his conversion attempt, which he knocked over to rub salt into Met East's wounds and make the final score 10-6. South Coast second rower Matt Host was named man-of-the-match, with Brady Payne from Northern taking out the player of the carnival award.
Stats: Pens: Met East 6-5; Scrums: 7-7; Completions: South Coast: 16/29, Met East 13/27
DAY 3: Saturday May 17
Perfect autumn weather for the 3rd day of the carnival, this time at Bishop Park which was still a little wet under foot in a few places. Once again the two "Consolation Cup" games opened proceedings , and as per yesterday Capricornia and Peninsula had good wins. In the first game North-West held Capricornia for the first half to go in trailing 14-10, and in fact took the lead on the second minute of the second half, but from that point on Capricornia got into their stride ending up 42-16 winners. In contrast Peninsula started well in the second game, skipping away to a 16-0 lead after only 12 minutes, before South West started to compete and managed a converted try before the break. Peninsula skipped away to a 30-6 lead in the second half before South West picked up two consolation tries to narrow the final score to 30-16.
Stats: Pens: Cap 6-4; Scrums: North West 7-1; Completions: Cap: 18/26, North West 14/21
Stats: Pens: South West 7-1; Scrums: South West 5-2; Completions: Pen: 13/24, SW 15/21
Met West faced Wide Bay in the first game in the main draw, already without injured lock Nick Wright and were further hamstrung when Tim Mc suffered a knee injury early in the first half. They started well however with their "man-of-the-match" Lauchlan Witt scoring wide out in the second minute, the conversion giving them a 6-0 lead. Wide Bay's U14 halves Josh and Chris were causing all sorts of trouble however and they scored two tries in two minutes to take a 12-6 lead. Lauchlan Witt scored his second try 5 minutes before the break to get the score back to 12-10. Wide Bay started the second half much the better and skiped away to a 22-10 lead after 10 minutes. Met West gave themselves some hope with a 4 pointer, but Wide Bay sealed the win with a converted try 4 minutes from time to record a 28-14 victory, with the game ending in unfortunate circumstances as Beau Batley suffered a bad knee injury in the last moments of the match.
Stats: Pens: WB 7-5; Scrums: WB 8-4; Completions: Wide Bay: 18/24, Met West 13/24
Met North started well again against Darling Downs in the fourth game but unlike yesterday were able to convert pressure into points, with Alex T scoring in the 5th minute. Darling Downs hit back but the Met North defence held firm, despite the loss of tackling machine Rohan ith a knee injury. Eventually Met North got a bit more ball in the opposition half and put on two tries in 2 minutes, the first from Brendan, who slammed into the goalpost as he scored and Luke who has gone from strength to strength in this carnival, giving Met North a 16-0 halftime lead. Darling Downs hit back early in the second half to narrow the lead to 10 points, but Met North re-established the 16 point buffer when Alex T scored off a fine break from Jacob. Five minutes later Darling Downs were in again, but Met North wrapped up the match when Luke crossed for his second try after a great break from Alex T to make the final score 28-16.
Met North 28 (Luke Samoa 2, Alex Tallon 2, Brendan Altadonna tries; Jed Fuller 3/4, Samoa 1/1 goals) def Darling Downs 12 (Luke Menhinnit, Matt Meier tries; Damon Brown 1/1, Chris Rice 1/1 goals) (HT MN 16-0)
Penalties: 3-3; Scrums: Daring Downs 6-4; Completed Sets: MN: 14/23 DD: 10/19
Top Tacklers: Nash Rylands 14; Jozey Stubicar/Alex Tallon 10; Matt Handcock 9; Reece Mitchell 8.
Top Hit-Ups: Isaac Schwenke 12; Alex Fresta/Nash Rylands/Alex Tallon 7; Mitchell Carr/Jozey Stubicar 6
The last two games were "semi-finals" and both turned out to be crackerjack matches. The first saw the Met East side coming up against the steadily improving Sunshine Coast team. The first 15 minutes were very tight, with the Sunshne Coast eventually breaking the deadlock when lock Asher Elamani broke a number of tackles to score. The conversion attemopt went wide for a 4-0 lead. Sunshine Coast were desperately unlucky not to score agaain in the next 10 minutes with a forward pass and a tight touch judge call seeing them denied tries. Met East took advantage of their good fortune to put on 2 tries in the two minutes before the break, the first from a well constructed backline move, the second from a spilled bomb, to go into the break leading 8-4. Tight defence continued to dominate with Sunshine Coast failing to capitalise on a number of scoring opportuniities, and Met East, on the back of a 5-1 penalty count holing them at bay. Eventually Matt Sepelini who is proving a real hadful for oppostion sides crashed over with 10 minutes remaining to wrap up a hard fought 14-4 victory and booking Met East a place in tomorrow's final.
Stats: Pens: ME 5-1; Scrums: Sun C 10-3 (SC1-0 agst feed); Completions: Met East: 14/23, Sun C 13/25
Northern stormed out of the blocks in the final game of the day to establish a 12-0 lead against a shell-shocked South Coast side in even time. The South Coast side steadied however and despite continuing pressure managed to prevent the Northern side from scoring again despite a number of opportunities. Right on halftime it was South Coast who managed to score the next try with winger Ben O'Connor scrambling over, with the conversion bringing them back within 6 points at the break. The second half was probably the best football of the carnival to date, and it really was "game-on" when South Coast were first to score in the 7th minute to bring the margin back to 2 points. Centre Martin Paulsen forced his way over with 10 minutes remaining and his sideline conversion of his own try had the South Coast leading by 4, with Northern struggling to find a way to penetrate the now watertight defence. South Coast wrapped up the match with a try as the hooter sounded to repeat the 22-12 scoreline they won with over Met North yesterday, booking themselves a place in tomorrow's final and sentencing Northern to a play off for third with the Sunshine Coast.
Stats: Pens: Sth Cst 4-1; Scrums: Sth Cst 7-5 ; Completions: Sth Cst: 17/25, Northern 17/24
Day 2 results in Summary:
9.00am: Capricornia 40 def North West 16
10.10am: Peninsula 30 def South West 16
11.20am: Wide Bay 28 def Met West 14
12.30pm: Met North 28 def Darling Downs 12
1.40pm: Met East 14 def Sunshine Coast 4
2.50pm: South Coast 22 def Northern 12
DAY 2: Friday May 16
Much better conditions weather wise for Day 2, but with Bishop Park drying out, we all ventured back to the excellent facilities and field at Banyo. The first 2 games were "Consolation Cup" round robin games with Capricornia taking on South West and Peninsula facing North West. The Capricornia / South West game was a tight affair in the first half with South West taking an early lead only to be pegged back and overtaken by the CQ boys who went to the break leading 10-4. Capricornia went on with the job in the second half to record a 26-4 victory. In the second game Peninsula were never troubled by North West racing out to a 22-0 half time lead before going on to win 40-4.
The first game in the "main" draw saw the highly fancied Met East side face Wide Bay. Both teams started a little nervously, but it was Met East who got into their stride eventually scoring in the 11th and 14th minutes with Brian Paterson and Jay Astn breaking the line down the left side to take an 8-0 lead. This signalled a spirited fightback fron the the Wide Bay side, who on the back of some brilliant attacking play by halfback Josh Costello, eventually crossed for a try of their own. Only the deadball line saved Met East when Costello and five-eight Chris Sandow combined in a brilliant chip and chase double which would have seen Wide Bay take a surprise lead to the break. As it was they were well and truly in the game at 8-6 down. The half time talk for Met East must have worked wonders as they came out in the second stanza a different side, scorring 22 points in the first 15 minutes during which time Wide Bay only touched the ball for one set. On the back of some big charges by man-of-the-match Matt Sepelini Met East were punishing a tiring Wide Bay defence and eventually went on to record a 42-6 victory.
Stats: Pens: Met East 4-2; Scrums: Met East 4-2; Completions: Met East: 15/24, Wide Bay 12/20
The second game proved to be the tightest of the day with Met West taking on Sunshine Coast. The first 15 minutes was dominated by the defence, and in fact in the whole first half neither side had many opportunities in the opposition half. Sunshine Coast were first to score with a smart try to 5/8 Joel Moon after some sustained pressure, but Met West equalised only 3 minutes later when their 5/8 Tim McIlwain dived over from close range. With both teams failing to convert, nor being able to crack the line again, the half time score was 4 all. As in the first half the second stanza was a real arm wrestle. Sunshine Coast threw a golden opportunity away when Simona made a great break only to see his pass to support with the line open go to ground. Met West took little time to capitalise and in their ensuing possession (assisted by a penalty) went over wide out when winger Daniel Hayes completed a great backline move. Tim Mc's conversion from wide out gave Met West 6 point lead, but the movement had seem Mase have to leave the field, and with yesterday's Man-of-the-Match Nick Wright also not being able to return after half time, Met West were starting to look vulnerable. The "bookends" Simona and Pat c noticed this and started to take control up the middle, with Simona himself scoring the equalising trying in the 41st minute, and offloading a great ball for what proved to be the winning try with 4 minutes remaining after Pat had got very close to scoring on two occasions. The final score was 16-10 to the Sunshine Coast.
Stats: Pens: Sun.Coast 4-0; Scrums: MW 6-4; Completions: Sun.Coast 19/29, MW: 17/24
Met North played South Coast in the third game and looked good early, but were unable to penetrate the tight South Coast defence despite a couple of good opportunities. In the end it was Met North who cracked first with the South Coast fullback reaching over for a good try in traffic, the conversion giving South Coast a 6-0 lead after 10 minutes. Met North's game fell apart under the constant pressure and 6 minutes later South Coast centre Martin Paulsen scored a fine individual try to give the South Coast a 12 point break. Met North finally got a break when Luke Samoa scored right on half time, his conversion bring the score back to 12-6 at the break. The second half began disastrously for Met North with South Coast scoring from dummy half in te 2nd minute. Tow minutes later however Will Chambers scored a great try after Alex T kicked through from a scrum win to bring Met North back within 4. The next 12 minutes saw Met North with plenty of opportunities to level the score, but they just could not get through the South Coast desperation defence, and with five minutes to go South Coast were the ones to score when Man-of-the-Match Timothy Matanga sliced through to score in the corner to establish the 22-12 winning score. Even a last minute scoring opportunity for Met North was squandered with the ball beiong dropped just short of the line. The forwards all worked hard in defence with Matt and Brendan shining, and Isaac was the standout in attack with 12 hitups. Met North man-of-the-match was Luke Samoa who displayed great all round skills with a couple of line breaks, great taking of the high ball and 2/2 goalkicking from wide out.
South Coast 22 (Nick Currell, Daniel Isaac, Timothy Matanga, Martin Paulsen tries; Matanga 3/4 goals) def Met North 12 (Will Chambers, Luke Samoa tries; Samoa 2/2 goals) (HT SC 12-6)
Penalties: Met North 7-2; Scrums: Met North 6-5; Completed Sets: MN: 15/26 SC: 18/24
Top Tacklers: Matt Handcock 22; Brendan Aladonna 19; Rohan Ahern 18; Jozey Stubicar 15; Clayton Hoet/Nash Rylands 14.
Top Hit-Ups: Isaac Schwenke 12; Alex Fresta/Jozey Stubicar 8; Alex Tallon 7; Mat Handcock/James Phipps 6
The final game of the day saw Northern hurtle out of the blocks to establish a 22-0 lead over Darling Downs after only 14 minutes with a brilliant display of rolling football. To Darling Downs credit however they eventually got some ball and struck back with a try of their own, but another converted try to the Northerners saw them go to the break with a seemingly unassailable 28-6 lead. With Brady Payne on the sideline witha jaw injury Northern faltered in the second half and Darling Downs scored two converted tries to cose the margin to 10 points midway through the second half, and were desperately unlucky to have another try disallowed which would have brought them within striking distance. Northern steadied however and a converted try 7 minutes from time sealed a 34-18 victory.
Play moves back to Bishop Park tomorrow with Capricornia meeting North West and Peninsula up against South Westin the early Consolation Cups games. Wide Bay will play Met West and Met North will play Darling Downs to qualify for the 5v6 match on Sunday, and the teams still in with a chance for the title are Met East and Sunshine Coast who will play at 1.40pm and South Coast and Northern who will play at 2.50pm. See you there!!!
Day 2 results in Summary:
9.00am: Capricornia 26 def South West 4
10.10am: Peninsula 40 def North West 4
11.20am: Met East 42 def Wide Bay 6
12.30pm: Sunshine Coast 16 def Met West 10
1.40pm: South Coast 22 def Met North 12
2.50pm: Northern 34 def Darling Downs 18
DAY 1; Thursday May 15
What a miserable morning greeted us at Bishop Park for the first day of the state titles. Bishop Park was declared unfit for play and after some frantic phone calls, Banyo's grounds were secured to host the day's play (and tomorrow's as it has turned out). All the team photos were taken and everyone then moved out to Banyo, where we were surprised to find a great new complex with undercover areas to watch the games, plus two fields reasonably unaffected by the rain. To accommodate for the late start 2 games were transferred to the number 2 field and played simultaneously to other games (so unfortunately I did not see all the matches!). The idea of the day was to win by as much as possible, as results today determined the seedings for tomorrow.
Met North opened the carnival against Capricornia at 11am, and could hardly have wished for a better start, with Phippsy (who was brought into the side for the injured Joel) crashing over for a try in the second minute. Jed's conversion gave the host team a welcome early lead which they never relinquished. A good try wide out to Mitchell Carr pushed Met North out to a 10-0 lead in even time, before the Capricornia boys settled down and started to play some better football. Met North weathered the storm however and converted tries to Jed and Matt in the four minutes before the break saw Met North take a comfortable 22-0 lead at halftime. The second half began as a repeat of the first, with Matt crashing over in the second minute for his unlikely second try with Jed's conversion from wide out taking the score to 28-0. Capricornia were starting to play better however and started to make inroads and were eventually rewarded when Daniel Robert sneaked over after an elusive dash. Jozey wrapped up the scoring for the match with a try in the closing moments with the final score 34-6. Captain Alex Tallon picked up the official Man of the Match award in what was very much a team effort with everyone contributing. Nash had a sensational game, particularly in defence, notching up 18 tackles, whilst Isaac and Alex Fresta kept the opposition on the back foot with some great hit-ups. All the interchange players contributed as well, including TJ who was brought into the team at the last minute following a weekend shoulder injury to Chris Stanley.
Met North 34 (Matt Handcock 2, Mitchell Carr, Jed Fuller, James Phipps, Jozey Stubicar tries; Jed Fuller 4/5, Luke Samoa 1/1 goals) def Capricornia 6 (Daniel Robert try; Yorum Major 1/1 goal) (HT MN 22-0)
Penalties: Met North 7-5; Scrums: Capricornia 9-6; Completed Sets: MN: 16/31 Cap: 16/28
Top Tacklers: Nash Rylands 18; Matt Handcock 12; Rohan Ahern/Brendan Altadonna/Reece Mitchell/Isaac Schwenke 11
Top Hit-Ups: Alex Fresta/Matt Handcock/Isaac Schwenke 9; Alex Tallon 8; Mitchell Carr/Luke Samoa/Jozey Stubicar 7
The first game on Field 2 saw Met East prove far too strong for the North West side, demolishing them 72-0. Jay Aston picked up the man-of-the-match award for Met East in what was a great display. The other game played on field 2 was of a similar nature, with Northern, expertly steered around the paddock by halfback Brady Payne, who also produced a faultless goal-kicking display, triumphing over South West 54-0. South West had their moments but ball control let them down badly, and they barely completed a set.
The second game on the main field saw South Coast get away to a good start against Wide Bay, jumping away to lead 16-0 at the break. Wide Bay fought back in the second half, eventually going down 20-6 against the well drilled South Coast team. The Met West / Peninsula game started sensationally with Peninsula putting two tries on, and leading 10-0 vrtually before Met West had touched the ball. The huge Peninsula forward pack tired however and Met West, on the back of an excellent kicking game by Tim McIlwain, and depite losing Mase Laulu to a reoccurrence of his knee injury, eventually got back on top, taking a 16-10 lead to the break. Spurred on by man-of-the-match Nick Wright and a eampaging Lagi Setu, the Met West side proved much too good in the second stanza, eventually running out 42-10 winners.
The final game of the day proved the most exciting with the big Sunshine Coast side taking on a smaller, but no less determined side Darling Downs outfit. Simona Vivega opened the scoring in spectacular fashion with the try of the day, scoring from 40 metres out. Both sides were making a lot of errors, and missed several try scoring opportunities, however the defence must also be congratulated. The two teams eventually went to the break locked at 10 all, although Sunshine Coast were first to break the deadlock midway through the second half , but the conversion went wide leaving the score at 14-10. Over the next 10 minuntes Darling Downs pressured the Sunshine Coast line, forcing several line dropouts in their attempts to level the score. Eventually a clever chip kick from halfback Chris Rice saw Scott McCoy touch down wide out. The conversion went wide and the teams were again locked with a minute to go. Sunshine Coast got an opportunity to win, however spilled the ball, and the game was over with the score 14 all. With both sided scoring three tries, the game was awardedto the Sunshine Coast as they scored the first try.
The rankings after todays matches are: 1 Met East; 2 Northern; 3 Met West; 4 Met North; 5 South Coast; 6 Sunshine Coast; 7 Darling Downs; 8 Wide Bay; 9 Capricornia; 10 Peninsula; 11 South West; 12 North West.
Tomorrow's matches, again at Banyo, see Capricornia take on South West, and Peninsula versus North West in the Consolation Cup, with Met East v Wide Bay, Met West v Sunshine Coast, Met North v South Coast and Northern v Darling Downs the "knockout" games in the race for the state title. See you there for the first game at 9am!!
Day 1 results in summary:
Met North 34 def Capricornia 6
Met East 74 def North West 0
Northern 54 def South West 0
South Coast 20 def Wide Bay 8
Met West 42 def Peninsula 10
Darling Downs 14 drew Sunshine Coast 14 (Sunshine Coast won on "first try" rule)
