In a strange twist of the draw Round 13 has been played before Round 12, with all games being played on a blustery Sunday.
The worst of the conditions were undoubtedly at Brandon Park, which is breezy at the best of times, and with the wide open spaces of Archerfield aerodrome providing no protection from the south-westerly gale, the game between Souths and Redcliffe was always likely to be affected by the elements, although the extent to which this occurred was almost unbelievable. In fact all 50 points in the game were scored at the northern end of the ground, with the home side racking up a 20-0 lead at halftime only to see the Dolphins score 30 of their own in the second stanza, the final result a 30-20 win to Redcliffe.
Fifteen minutes later, Centenary and Norths kicked off at the Panthers home ground, which was also heavily exposed to the wind, although it was to play a much smaller role in the outcome of the match. The home side ran with the wind in the first half, but it was Norths who opened the scoring to take an early 6-0 lead. This signalled the start of a see-sawing battle which saw the score locked at 6 all and 12 all before a late try and penalty goal saw Norths take a 16-10 lead to the break. Centenary did not let the prospect of running into the wind faze them and scored early in the second half to get back within two points. Norths were hamstrung with injury to a number of players, and the effort started to show, and when Centenary received a penalty in front with two minutes remaining, they chose to go for the win rather than the draw, and came up trumps with a try in the corner, the sideline conversion resulting in an upset 20-16 victory for the hime side.
Arana hosted Easts at Dawson Pde and started well, seemingly intent on emphatically erasing memories of their first round defeat at Scott Park. A mistake in possession, followed by a "piggyback" penalty allowed Easts to open the scoring. The kickoff rocketed dead with the strong tailwind and Arana struck back, a try from Mitchell C levelling the scores. The next 12 minutes saw Arana have a number of scoring opportunities but they were repelled by determined Easts defence until Matt H scored from a tap move. In the shadows of halftime however the Tigers scored a crucial 4 pointer to go into the break trailling by only 2, 10-8, with the prospect of a gale behind them in the second half. Things looked grim for the home side when Easts took a 12-10 lead in the 10th minute of the second half, however 3 tries in 10 minutes, two by hooker Brendan A including a 70 metre runaway, saw Arana grab a 28-12 win, the score by no means indicating the closeness of the contest, as it was only the Tigers failure to complete their last 3 sets that allowed Arana to break away.
Minute by minute:
5th min: Easts-7 try; Easts 4-0
78h min: Mitchell C try; 4-4
20th min: Matt H try/Josh B conv; Arana 10-4
27th min: Easts-2 try; Arana 10-8
FIRST HALF STATS: Penalties: Easts 4-2; Completions: Arana 10/15 (66.7%); Easts 11/15 (73.3%)
39th min: Easts-2 try; Easts 12-10
48th min: Brendan A try/Josh B conv; Arana 16-12
55th min: Geoff H try/Josh B conv; Arana 22-12
58th min: Brendan A try/Josh B conv; Arana 28-12
SECOND HALF STATS: Penalties: 3-3; Completions: Arana 11/17 (64.7%); Easts 8/13 (61.5%)
TOTAL STATS: Penalties: Easts 7-5; Completions: Arana 21/32 (65.6%); Norths 19/28 (67.9%)
The final game of the day saw Logan Brothers host near neighbours Springwood at Civic Park. The home side seemed to handle the windy conditions better and went to halftime leading 12-4 after a fairly sloppy first half. Springwood looked to mount a comeback getting back within 2 shortly after halftime, but two more converted tries allowed Logan Bros to run out 24-10 winners and maintain their spot in the top four. The two Matt S's - Smith and Sepelini - both were forced from the field injured and it is hoped they will be ok as they are certainly critical players for the Brisbane side iin the state carnival in 2 weeks time.
Despite their loss, Norths maintain the competition lead on 18 points. Springwood also hold second spot two points back, but now only on for-and-against over Redcliffe. Logan Bros, a further point back on 15 are in fourth with Arana on 14 still just outside the 4. Centenary's win has revived their flagging semi-final chances and they move to 10 points, with Easts on 7 now looking to be out of the running. Souths again squandered the chance to open their account for the season, but surely a win is not far off for the Magpies.
Brad T
20/6/2004
