2018 Queensland Cup
The 2018 Queensland Cup season was the 23rd season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 28-week long season (including finals) from March to September.[1]
| 2018 Queensland Cup | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 10 – September 23, 2018 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Premiers | Redcliffe Dolphins (6th title) |
| Minor premiers | Redcliffe Dolphins (6th title) |
| Matches played | 167 |
| Points scored | 7,279 |
| Top points scorer(s) | Guy Hamilton (176) |
| Player of the year | Nathaniel Neale (Petero Civoniceva Medal) |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Daniel Ogden Michael Purcell (22) |
← 2017 2019 → | |
The Redcliffe Dolphins won their sixth premiership after defeating the Easts Tigers 32–22 in the Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium. Ipswich Jets prop Nathaniel Neale was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Petero Civoniceva Medal.[2]
Teams edit
In 2018, the lineup of teams remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive year.
Ladder edit
| 2018 Queensland Cup | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Redcliffe Dolphins (P) | 23 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 600 | 382 | +218 | 35 |
| 2 | Burleigh Bears | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 589 | 427 | +162 | 34 |
| 3 | Townsville Blackhawks | 23 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 571 | 348 | +223 | 32 |
| 4 | Northern Pride | 23 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 474 | 404 | +70 | 29 |
| 5 | Easts Tigers | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 576 | 503 | +73 | 28 |
| 6 | Ipswich Jets | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 554 | 505 | +49 | 28 |
| 7 | Papua New Guinea Hunters | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 444 | 418 | +26 | 28 |
| 8 | Norths Devils | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 516 | 553 | -37 | 24 |
| 9 | Souths Logan Magpies | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 534 | 499 | +35 | 22 |
| 10 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 453 | 464 | -11 | 22 |
| 11 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | 23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 435 | 634 | -199 | 21 |
| 12 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 472 | 593 | -121 | 20 |
| 13 | Central Queensland Capras | 23 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 390 | 576 | -186 | 16 |
| 14 | Mackay Cutters | 23 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 386 | 688 | -302 | 11 |
Final series edit
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (Local) | Venue | ||||||
| Elimination Finals | |||||||
| Townsville Blackhawks | 12 - 32 | Ipswich Jets | 1 September 2018, 1:10pm | Jack Manski Oval | |||
| Northern Pride | 0 – 32 | Easts Tigers | 1 September 2018, 3:00pm | Stan Williams Park | |||
| Major / Minor Semi-finals | |||||||
| Easts Tigers | 50 – 20 | Ipswich Jets | 8 September 2018, 1:10pm | Suzuki Stadium | |||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 13 – 6 | Burleigh Bears | 8 September 2018, 6:00pm | Dolphin Stadium | |||
| Preliminary Finals | |||||||
| Burleigh Bears | 26 – 36 | Easts Tigers | 15 September 2018, 1:10pm | Pizzey Park | |||
| Grand Final | |||||||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 36 – 22 | Easts Tigers | 23 September 2018, 3:10pm | Suncorp Stadium | |||
Grand Final edit
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 36–22 | Easts Tigers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 6 Fuller 17', 42' Hawkins 27' Staggs 46' Watts 62' Opacic 78' Goals: 6 Staggs pen 10', 28', pen 33', 43', 48', 63' (6/9) | 1st: 14–10 2nd: 22–12 Report | Tries: 4 Carey 12' Seve 37' Foster 56' Drinkwater 64' Goals: 3 Torpy 13', 57', 65' (3/4) |
| Redcliffe Dolphins | Position | Easts Tigers | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Trai Fuller | 1 | Fullback | 1 | Scott Drinkwater |
| Josh Beehag | 2 | Wing | 2 | Linc Port |
| Kotoni Staggs | 3 | Centre | 3 | Shane Neumann |
| Tom Opacic | 4 | Centre | 4 | Marion Seve |
| Jeremy Hawkins | 5 | Wing | 5 | Conor Carey |
| Bryce Donovan | 6 | Five eighth | 6 | Billy Walters |
| Cameron Cullen (c) | 7 | Half back | 7 | Brayden Torpy |
| Sam Anderson | 10 | Prop forward | 8 | Albert Vete |
| Jake Turpin | 9 | Hooker | 9 | Tom Butterfield |
| Nathan Watts | 16 | Prop forward | 10 | David Tyrell |
| Toby Rudolf | 11 | Second row | 11 | Jake Foster (c) |
| Myles Taueli | 14 | Second row | 12 | Patrick Kaufusi |
| Jamil Hopoate | 13 | Lock forward | 13 | Jack Svendsen |
| Nick Slyney | 8 | Interchange | 14 | Chris Ostwald |
| Aaron Whitchurch | 12 | Interchange | 16 | Tino Fa'asuamaleaui |
| James Taylor | 15 | Interchange | 17 | Kelma Tuilagi |
| Hugh Pratt | 17 | Interchange | 20 | Sam Kasiano |
| Adam Mogg | Coach | Scott Sipple | ||
| QRL match centre | ||||
Redcliffe finished the regular season as minor premiers for the sixth time and earned a bye in the first week of the finals. In the major semi final, they defeated Burleigh 13–6 and qualified for their 11th Grand Final. Easts finished fifth on the ladder and defeated the fourth-placed Northern Pride 32–0 in the first week of the finals. In the minor semi final, they eliminated Ipswich 50–20 before upsetting Burleigh in the preliminary final to qualify for their fifth Grand Final. Redcliffe and Easts last met in a Grand Final in 1997, with the Dolphins winning 18–16.
First half edit
Redcliffe were the first to score in the Grand Final thanks to a Kotoni Staggs penalty goal from 20 metres out. The first try of the contest went to Easts, with Conor Carey stretching out to score in the corner. Redcliffe recorded their first four-pointer in the 16th minute when a late Cameron Cullen offload found fullback Trai Fuller who muscled his way over. They scored their second when Jeremy Hawkins leapt high to catch a Bryce Donovan kick and planted it down for a try. Another penalty goal in the 33rd minute gave the Dolphins a 14–6 lead. Easts hit back in the shadow of half time when Marion Seve scored out wide to cut the margin to four points.
Second half edit
The Dolphins opened the second half with an early try when Fuller ducked through the Tigers' defence to score his second try. They extended their lead in the 46th minute when a Donovan grubber was kept alive by Aaron Whitchurch, who batted infield for Staggs to score. Easts got back into the game in the 56th minute when captain Jake Foster barged over from close range to score. In the 62nd minute, Redcliffe all but sealed the win when Donovan set up another try with his boot, this time finding Nathan Watt who dived on his grubber. The Tigers got one back two minutes later through fullback Scott Drinkwater but it proved to be a consolation try in the end, as Redcliffe ended the game with a try to Tom Opacic in the 78th minute. Dolphins' second rower Toby Rudolf was awarded the Duncan Hall Medal for man of the match.[4][5]
NRL State Championship edit
After winning the Grand Final, the Redcliffe Dolphins qualified for the NRL State Championship on NRL Grand Final day. They were defeated by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the New South Wales Cup premiers, 18–42.[6][7]
Sunday, 1 October 3:40pm (AEDT) |
| Penrith Panthers | 42 – 18 | Papua New Guinea Hunters |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Tony Satini (9', 11', 16', 40') 4 Darren Nicholls (20') 1 Viliame Kikau (31') 1 Christian Crichton (38') 1 Maika Sivo (47') 1 Goals: Darren Nicholls 5/8 (13', 17', 22', 34', 39') Sin Bin: Jarome Luai (68') | 1st: 38 – 2 2nd: 4 – 16 | Tries: 1 (69') Adex Wera 1 (72') Bland Abavu 1 (77') Ase Boas Goals: 3/4 Ase Boas (3' pen, 70', 77') |
Player statistics edit
Leading try scorers edit
| Leading point scorers edit
|
QRL awards edit
- Petero Civoniceva Medal (Best and Fairest): Nathaniel Neale ( Ipswich Jets)
- Coach of the Year: Ty Williams ( Northern Pride)
- Rookie of the Year: Jake Clifford ( Northern Pride)
- Representative Player of the Year: David Fifita ( Queensland under-18, Souths Logan Magpies)
Team of the Year edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Draw".
- ^ "Ipswich hardman claims Civoniceva Medal". Queensland Rugby League. QRL Media. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ^ Arnold, Rikki-Lee (23 September 2018). "Redcliffe Dolphins down Easts Tigers 36-22 to win Intrust Super Cup grand final". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "2018 QLD Cup Grand Final - Redcliffe 36 v Easts 22". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
- ^ "Sharks recruit Rudolf red-hot as Dolphins sink Tigers". 23 September 2018.
- ^ "NRL State Championships Team List v Redcliffe Dolphins". 25 September 2018.
- ^ "Bulldogs add to NSW dominance over Queensland with a big win in the Intrust Super State Championship over the Dolphins". 30 September 2018.