The Redcliffe Dolphins continued their strong run into the finals, defeating Norths Devils 44-24 on yesterday (Sunday) afternoon at Bishop Park during the Harvey Norman Women in League round.
It took five minutes for the Phins to take the lead, with prop Nick Slyney getting his side off to a good start early.
Halfback Jack Ahearn then capitalised on some fast Redcliffe play, crossing the line in the 10th minute to extend the lead.
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The Dolphins continued their swift ball movement which saw Curtis Johnston cross in the corner in soon after, before Slyney muscled his way through a line of defenders to pick up his second try for the afternoon.
An intercept by Devils five-eighth Hayden Lipp in the 32nd minute gave the home crowd something to cheer about, with the playmaker crossing under the black dot.
However, that was short-lived, as it wasn’t long before Dolphins winger Joshua Beehag crossed the line twice off the back of some well-placed kicks, giving the away side a 32-6 lead at the break.
The Devils started the second half with blistering pace, with Danny Kerr scoring in the opening minutes, before setting up a try for fullback Javarn White only moments after, putting the home side back into contention.
After three repeat sets, the Dolphins managed to break the Devils line with fullback Zach Strasser crossing in the 61st minute to halt the run of the Devils.
Joe Bradley then took the opportunity to cross the line in the 69th minute, giving the away side a comfortable victory moving forward into the finals.
“I thought we played well for 40 minutes, but we just seemed to have switched off during the second half,” Dolphins coach Adam Mogg said.
“In the second half, we were really disappointing, we picked up a few injuries which didn’t help, but the team just seemed to have switched off their computers.
“It is a little disappointing picking up injuries, Nick Slyney looks like he’s done his ACL – he was one of our form front rowers.”
While unimpressed with the performance during the second half, Mogg was satisfied with their abilities to recognise where is went wrong.
“I’m trying to make it less coaching from me and more about the players driving each other to better each week,” he said.
Redcliffe will face Tweed Head Seagulls in Round 23 in front of a home crowd on Saturday night – and while they will be favourites to win, the Gulls were able to ambush them the last time they met.
“The last time we played Tweed they gave us a good touch up, so we need to be focused on putting in an 80-minute performance to get the win,” Mogg said.
“Regardless of who you’re playing, you’ve got to focus on what your standards are and nail those little things.”
The Devils will also be in action next week and will face the third-placed Falcons at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 44 (Nick Slyney 2, Joshua Beehag 2, Jack Ahearn, Curtis Johnston, Zach Strasser, Joseph Bradley tries; Tyson Gamble 6 goals) def NORTHS DEVILS 24 (Haydan Lipp, Danny Kerr, Javarn White, Luke Pollock tries; Haydan Lipp 4 goals) at Bishop Park.
