Michael ROBERTS [
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Mon May 21, 2007
by Queensland Rugby League
Source: www.qrl.com.auMichael Roberts is set to shatter the record for the Queensland Wizard Cup's most experienced NRL debutant when he takes the field for Brisbane against the Manly Sea Eagles tonight.
Roberts, a Mackay Brothers junior, has tallied 186 games and 10 seasons in his Wizard Cup career for the Redcliffe Dolphins.
Previous to Roberts the most experienced Queensland Wizard Cup player to debut in the NRL was David Seage, who debuted for Newcastle in 2004 after playing 113 games and six seasons for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
Roberts is a three-time winner of the QANTAS (formerly Sunstate) Player of the Year; his wins in 1999, 2001 and 2006 giving him an unparalleled record in the competition.
He also secured the Courier-Mail Best and Fairest award in 1999 and was runner-up to Brandon Costin for the same accolade last year.
Adding to a remarkable 2006 season, Roberts was named Man of Match in the Wizard Cup grand final, leading his side to a 27-6 win against former Broncos feeder club Toowoomba.
The full-time schoolteacher was also the BMD Queensland Rugby League Representative Player of the Year in 2006.
Set to turn 28 next month, Roberts featured in grand finals in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006, narrowly missing selection for the 2000 grand final due to a shoulder injury. His 67 tries is a record for Redcliffe in the Wizard Cup era.
"Hopefully Mick will play lots of NRL in years to come," Dolphins coach Anthony Griffin said yesterday.
"He's a very popular bloke at our club and he's part of the fabric, the culture. He arrived here when he was 17 and for a long time has been the heart and soul of this team.
"Everyone at the club will be glued to the telly, willing him on."Queensland State of Origin representative Steve Bell played six seasons for the Central Capras (now Comets) and Norths Devils before debuting with the Melbourne Storm in 2001.
Former Maroon Adam Mogg also had a lengthy apprenticeship, playing 109 games for Redcliffe before being picked up by Parramatta.
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www.qrl.com.auSat September 16, 2006
by QRL Media
Source: QRLREDCLIFFE has secured its fifth QLD Wizard Cup premiership in 11 seasons, defying the odds to beat a star-studded Toowoomba side 27-6 at Suncorp Stadium.
In a masterful display, the ageing Dolphins showed the young Clydesdales the benefits of experience, recovering from a 56-22 hammering in the major semi to wreak revenge in the game that mattered most.
Everyone wrote us off a few weeks ago, Redcliffe coach Anthony Griffin said.
Have a look at that (Toowoomba) side and its chock full of stars. But that gets you nothing in grand finals sometimes.
Toowoombas line-up featured 11 NRL players, including the likes of Greg Eastwood, Joel Moon and David Taylor, expected to become the future face of the Brisbane Broncos.
Yet Redcliffe had an amazing statistic in its favour, boasting 23 games worth of grand final experience to Toowoombas none. Dolphins captain Troy Lindsay, a warhorse almost twice the age of rival Taylor, went into the match with six State League finals under his belt alone
That appeared to count for little just three minutes into the match when Toowoomba prop Ben Vaeau monstered his way across from short range.
The commentators summation was it was all too easy and there was an unspoken expectation that Redcliffe could be in for a pasting, just as they were a fortnight earlier.
Listed by bookies at long odds for victory, the Dolphins only had self belief to rely on and six minutes later they defied expectation to turn the tables.
Exposing frailties in the Clydesdales own defence, Michael Roberts shot out of dummy-half and fired a great second-man pass to Marty Turner. Turner slipped through an innocuous tackle and touched down straight under the posts.
With Greg Bourke converting it was 6-all and the stage was set for another thriller between two hostile combatants.
The next 30 minutes was a pure rip-and-tear affair, with swarming defence, body-slams and the odd smattering of argy bargy.
It featured three decisions that went to the video referee, the anticipation of the crowd amplifying an already fever-pitch atmosphere.
First Ryan Cullen was ruled to have knocked-on when he flew through the air to ground a grubber just short of the dead-ball line.
Then Jamie Simpson crossed at the other end of the paddock, twisting through three defenders, but ruled to have been held up by video adjudicator Tony Maksoud.
Maksoud was forced into a double-take moments later when Rory Bromley slid over from a great Nick Emmett pass, he too having his try disallowed due to insufficient control.
It took right up until the halftime siren for either team to crack.
With precision timing, elusive fullback Ryan Cullen dived over right on the hooter, following brilliant lead-up work by Roberts and halfback Marty Turner.
After battling a hamstring injury throughout the week, valiant Turner was a standout as the Dolphins took a 12-6 advantage.
The second stanza was played in much the same gritty style as the preceding 40 minutes, with neither team able to penetrate the rugged fence.
Two instances that best explained Redcliffes victory had nothing to do with tries scored.
Like the irrepressible Duracell Bunny, Dolphins custodian Cullen was amongst everything and his energy flowed through to his teammates. When he pulled off a last ditch cover tackle on Simpson in the 54th minute, it was certain try-saver, even though Simpson still had 80m to run.
Had Cullen hung off for a second longer or banked on teammates to cover for him, the quicksilver Simpson would have scorched them untouched over the distance.
The second instance of desperation and hunger came in the 65th minute when a loose ball fell close to the feet of two Toowoomba defenders. They hesitated for a fraction and Redcliffe backrower Danny Burke pounced, sliding in to win possession.
It was no coincidence that two minutes later Redcliffe found itself in good enough field position for Roberts to add a field goal and move the margin to 13-6.
Toowoomba needed to score twice in just over 10 minutes, but it never happened.
Announced as the prestigious QANTAS Player of the Year at halftime, Roberts took full control of the game as it headed into the final stretch.
First he hoisted a bomb for former Australian Rules player Emmett, who caught and passed for outside man Bromley to score, making it 17-6.
Then, when Toowoomba had the faintest hint of a comeback through a storming effort by Chris Muckert, Roberts latched on to the bulky backrower and punched the ball free over the line.
His try-saver demoralised the Clydesdales and they allowed two more tries before the game was brought to a halt.
Emmett hauled in another cross-field kick and set up Bromley again in the 75th minute, while Mark Shipway crossed from an angled run in the 78th minute.
Shipway, 30, finally found some recompense for the 1996 grand final, where he also scored a try, but was on a Redcliffe side which lost 8-6 to Toowoomba in perhaps the competitions best-ever decider.
After touring the globe with NRL and Super League teams, he had only this season returned to the Dolphins from English club Salford.
There was also a nice symmetry for teammate Adam Starr, taking the final hit-up of the game as he reached retirement with a perfect four-from-four in grand finals for the Dolphins.
REDCLIFFE 27 (Rory Bromley 2, Marty Turner, Ryan Cullen, Mark Shipway tries; Greg Bourke 3 goals; Michael Roberts field goal)
d TOOWOOMBA 6 (Ben Vaeau try; Nick Parfitt goal) at Suncorp Stadium.
Halftime: Redcliffe 12-6.
Referee: Brett Suttor.
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 2007 Queensland Cup
Redcliffe Dolphins
6 games; [View] Round 2 [24 Mar 07] W 22-12 v Aspley Broncos (H). [DH]
[View] Round 3 [01 Apr 07] W 34-14 v Souths Logan (A). [DH]
[View] Round 4 [08 Apr 07] W 16-14 v Burleigh (H). [DH]
[View] Round 5 [14 Apr 07] L 18-22 v Easts Tigers (A). [DH]
[View] Round 6 [22 Apr 07] W 38-22 v Norths Devils (H). [DH]
[View] Round 7 [29 Apr 07] W 30-20 v Tweed Heads (A). [DH]
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2007 NRL Telstra Premiership
Brisbane Broncos
5 games; [View] Round 10 [21 May 07] L 6-18 v Sea Eagles (A). [BE]
[View] Round 22 [12 Aug 07] L 6-14 v Storm (A). [DH]
[View] Round 23 [17 Aug 07] L 24-25 v Bulldogs (H). [DH]
[View] Round 24 [26 Aug 07] W 30-19 v Canberra (H). [DH]
[View] Finals Week 1 [09 Sep 07] L 0-40 v Storm (A). [DH]
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2006 Queensland Cup
Redcliffe Dolphins
8 tries, 1 field goals, 33 points.
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Roberts, Michael
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