BRL In Safe Hands Rd 13 wrap

How quickly the In Safe Hands Cup can change!

Despite winning five in a row only a few weeks ago; Easts have gone from equal top to fourth position, while a win for the Jets over Valleys puts both those clubs in equal fifth position; two points behind the Tigers. With back-to-back wins, Redcliffe remain at the top with the Gulls.

Laidley Recreation Reserve hosted the In Safe Hands Cup clash between Ipswich and Valleys and the Diehards relentlessly pounded the Jets line for the majority of the first half.

However, a Jets rare journey to Diehards territory resulted in Tu’u Maori scoring next to the right hand upright. Minutes later, Valleys showed that they too can keep the ball alive and after going through 10 sets of hands; Troyden Watene finally crossed with five minutes remaining.

Another Watene trademark burst (with three defenders on his back) had the Jets defence on roller-skates. Quick hands to the right had Tom Collins go over and the Valleys had a 10-6 lead at halftime.

The second half again had the Jets cross first following a simple “through the hands” move from the back of the scrum 30m out which resulted in fullback Jayden Conners crossing. The Jets put their wheels out wide in motion with a Raymond Baira scoot down the right side.

After a barging run from second rower Warren Warena under the posts, and an intercept 10m from the Jets line from “the bullet with head gear” Bernard Mosby saw them add another four points, the Ipswich Jets looked set to run amok.

Valleys shook off the onslaught momentarily when Mattias Hemuli crossed from dummy half.   

However, after keeping the ball alive with an offload and a flick pass, the ever present Maori finished off the play for the Jets which started inside their own half.

In a seesawing passage, that man Watene again showed off his skills, producing a bust from the Valleys 20m and the big man in blue wound up to motor 50mA swift movement to the right had Paul Ivan over to score, producing yet another remarkable try for the Laidley locals to absorb.

“I was very happy (with) how the boys steeled up in the first half; we had no footy and Valleys kept coming,” Jets coach Mark Bishop said.

“I was a bit worried going into this game as we had to find players after representative and promotion of players to Cup.

“Valleys put a Jets-like try on us when Watene went over. We had to play un-Jets-like footy for a while so we could get some footy. Once we did that, we reverted back to our game plan and made breaks inside.”

Redcliffe, after a come-from-behind win last week at Kougari Oval, came up against a Logan Brothers outfit determined to mirror their performance after last week’s draw with the Panthers.

The Brethren – with a mountain of possession – pounded away at the Dolphins line, but to no avail.

Finally, Redcliffe turned defence into attack. Josh Beehag danced over for the opening points, then a razzle-dazzle double crossing from five-eighth Mitch Wilson put the Premiers were in control.

Their strong defence continued in the second half and they went on to take the two points with a 38-0 win.  

2016 minor premiers Wynnum Manly took to Suzuki Stadium last Saturday afternoon to attempt to post a second win against the Tigers; their last loss in the In Safe Hands Cup.

Both sides registered four tries, however, Tigers kicker James Salter had a forgettable day with his boot, converting only one of those tries.

Seagulls Paora Kemp landed all four, giving the visitor’s the win 24-14 to stay at the top with Redcliffe.

RESULTS - IN SAFE HANDS CUP - ROUND 13 (June 24-25, 2017)

Ipswich Jets 36 (Tu’u Maori 2, Jayden Connors, Bernard Mosby, Raymond Baira, Warren Warrena Tries; Jayden Connors 6 goals) defeated Valleys Diehards 22 (Tom Collins, Mattias Hemuli, Troyden Watene, Paul Ivan Tries; Paul Ivan 2, Jacob Kelly goals).

Wynnum Manly Seagulls 24 (Hayden Crowley, Brad Mana, Corey Davis, Cody McIntosh Tries; Paora Kemp 4 goals) defeated Easts Tigers (Connor Jones 2, Adrian Henley, David McKenna Tries; James Salter goal).

Redcliffe Dolphins 38 (Mitch Wilson 2, Josh Beehag, Kyle Van Klaveren, Corben Daniels, Rinsma Saueha, Brandon Lee Tries; Kyle Van Klaveren 5 goals) defeated Logan Brothers 0.

West Brisbane Panthers - bye