Round 9
Norths Devils 26 d. Burleigh Bears 18

2007 Wizard Queensland Cup Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Australia > Queensland > State/Metropolitan Level Competition: Wizard Queensland Cup

Devils Have Their Day
Sun May 13, 2007
Source: www.qrl.com.au

A drama-filled final 10 minutes has seen Norths snatch a 26-18 win against Burleigh at Bishop Park, putting the Devils back in the hunt for a top five position.

The upset result came after Burleigh led 12-4 early in the match. However the Bears imploded with a series of penalties and finished the match with 12 men as skipper Ryan Gundry and referee Luke Potter staged a running battle.

In a thrill-a-minute climax to the game, Norths held a slender 20-18 advantage when young five-eighth Jason Poppi set sail for what looked like a length-of-the-field try. However, veteran Burleigh winger Aseri Laing came from the clouds to perform a stunning cover tackle, keeping the game in the balance.

The Devils retained the ball and continued to attack, with centre Joel Thompson then putting Anthony Perkins over in the corner. Referee Potter denied the try, claiming Thompson had been held before offloading the ball.

Again the result was left to rest on a knife's edge and the threat of a late Burleigh comeback loomed large in the air.

That evaporated entirely with five minutes left on the clock, as the Bears were punished for a bizarre sequence of offences by Laing. Placed on report for a high shot, Laing refused to respond to the referee when called out for discussion.

Potter issued several warnings to the 32-year-old without any response and eventually lost his patience, sin-binning Laing and effectively ending his involvement in the contest.

Norths now had the overlap and they tried to exploit it at every opportunity. In the 75th minute Papua New Guinean winger Georg Kepa went within inches on the left side, only to be pushed into touch just before the corner.

On their next set in possession the Devils then tested the other side and winger Perkins was again cut down inches from the tryline. As disjointed as Burleigh was in attack, the coastal side remained strong in defence.

They eventually cracked with two minutes remaining, as Norths swung the ball from side-to-side, ending in a try out wide to prolific backrower Sam Tagataese.

Clear jubilation was present on the faces of the Devils when the fulltime hooter sounded, marking their win this year over a top five side.

While teen centre Will Chambers received the ABC Man of the Match, his backline ally Perkins was another clear standout, posting two tries and making good yardage from dummy-half.

Statistics told the story for Burleigh, asked to perform 104 more tackles than the opposition as they conceded 11 penalties to four over the course of the game.

Next Saturday sees Burleigh tackle Tweed Heads at Pizzey Park in the Gold Coast derby at 2pm. Norths is away to Easts at Langlands Park, also on Saturday at 3pm.

NORTHS 26 (Anthony Perkins 2, Will Chambers, Sam Tagataese, Jeremy Smith tries; Liam Foran 3 goals) d BURLEIGH 18 (Ben Black, Nick Parfitt, Martin Griese tries; Nick Parfitt 3 goals) at Bishop Park.

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