Going into this weekend’s games, the Redcliffe Dolphins and West Brisbane Panthers sit one-two on the In Safe Hands Cup Ladder respectively.
The Panthers have the bye and Redcliffe have a four-point buffer, so they will remain in those positions at the end of competition in this round. In a close competition, the for-and-against from second to fifth is separated by only seven points.
This week, Ipswich host Valleys in a must-win for the Jets. Wynnum Manly are at home to Easts who sit in third, one point away from the fifth-placed Seagulls.
Ipswich are at home to Valleys Saturday afternoon. The Jets, while only four points out of the top six, have struggled, losing their past three games. Their last win was against Valleys 36-22 at Laidley in Round 13.
Rowan Winterfield, Tu’u Maori and Nathan Gaulton are slotted into a starting Jets pack that will need to tighten in the middle of the park against the likes of line breakers Dylan Smith and Troyden Watene.
Valleys got away to a super start last week against Logan Brothers, only to have the Brethren come back and take the lead at halftime.
It was their only game after the bye following their 18-4 win over Wests in Round 15.
On Sunday, Redcliffe will take on a desperate Logan Brothers. The Brethren have shown their true grit in the middle part of the season, with victories against Easts and Wynnum and a draw with Wests.
Logan coach Steve Bretherton has named one of his best 17 this year. His bench has two of the toughest going around in Reece Summer and Ben Faulkner along with Otu Talakai, who would have no trouble shifting the USS Ronald Reagan from its moorings.
The last time these two teams met was a 38-0 win to the Redcliffe at Davies Park in Round 13. Logan were pounding the Phins line for the opening stanzas in both halves of that game, but the premiers muscled up to finally take the win after getting their share of the footy.
Redcliffe coach Daniel Green has named the magic man Kyle Van Klaveren at number seven, with Trai Fuller dropping back. Green also has a volatile bench to unleash in Jaz Nahu-Main and Elliott Thompson.
Logan now have nothing to lose, and have to win three games of four rounds of 2017 to make the six, as they have the bye next week.
Wynnum Manly will take on traditional rivals Easts at Kougari Oval on Sunday. The last time they took each other on in front of the Chook Pen, the Seagulls won 26-10 in Round 6.
The Seagulls have only won two of their past six games, one of those wins was against Easts at Suzuki Stadium 24-18 in Round 13. The Tigers had a massive run in the middle of the season that had them sitting in second place at one stage.
The Tigers come off a bye after a thrilling 28-26 win over the Jets. Easts are in third on 38 points, one ahead of the Seagulls with only seven the difference in the for and against column.
The Tigers have the in-form Gene Ropoama leading a go forward, with three of the best finishers in Brandon Downey, Michael Poulia and David McKenna at the back.
The Seagulls who have struggled to find halves due to injuries at the club have named John Te Reo and Paora Kemp in six and seven. Rampaging back rowers Cody McIntosh and Brendon McBryde return from injury to also come into the 17.
IN SAFE HANDS CUP - ROUND 18 (July 29-30) team lists
Ipswich Jets v Valleys Diehards at North Ipswich Reserve, Saturday, July 29 – 1.15pm
Ipswich Jets
1. Jayden Connors 2. Bernard Mosby 3. Brendan Marshall 4. Ben White 5. Rendy Mam-Gibuma 6. Chastyn Bowen 7. Denzel King 8. Ben Hetra 9. Peter Whittaker 10. Rowan Winterfield 11. Nathan Gaulton 12. Hugh Sedger 13. Tu’u Maori 15. Raymond Baira 16. Anthony Komboi 17. Fine-Callum Faingaa 18. David Tahavalu 19. Jesse Miles (one to be omitted)
Coach: Mark Bishop
Valleys Diehards
1.Andrew Lancaster 2. Tom Collins 3. Ryley Kajewski 4. Greg Miglio 5. Stacey Everitt 6. Rowan Klein 7. Joe Bond 20. Dylan Smith 9. Chris Aiton 10. Liam Herrington 11. Paul Ivan 19. Troyden Watene 13. Rajan Opetia-Halls 14. Jon Collins 15. Jacob Kelly 16. Trevor Collett 17. Matt Paulo
Coach: Don Gailer
Redcliffe Dolphins v Logan Brothers at Dolphin Oval Sunday, July 30 – 11.45am
Redcliffe
1. Trai Fuller 2. Will Partridge 3. Sonny Munroe 4. Corbin Daniels 5. Shaun Rees 6. Mitch Wilson 7. Kyle Van Klaveren 8. Nathan Watts 9. Hayden Hansen 10. Agassi Stowers 11. Josh Rudolfe 12. Nick Ritter 13. Sheldon Pitama 14. Sam Leach 15. Jaz Nahu-Main 16. Ben King 17. Elliott Thompson
Coach: Daniel Green
Logan Brothers
1. Evander Cummins 2. Kieran Battelley 3. Paul Rokolati 4. Matt Parata 5. Chris Tauelangi 6. Connor Toia 7. LJ Waddups 8. Rhys Melville 9. Jack Walters 10. Jordan Mago 11. Darcy Sims 12. Jack Anderson 13. Kalolo Saitaua 14. Jye Boyd 15. Reece Summer 16. Ben Faulkner 17. Otu Talakai
Coach: Steve Bretherton
Wynnum Manly v Easts Tigers at BMD Kougari Oval Sunday, July 30 – 1.15pm
LIVESTREAM BRLTV
Wynnum Manly
1.Hayden Crowley 2. Benaiah Bowie 3. Brad Mana 4. Mitchell Buckett 5. Mitchell McMillan 6. John Te Reo 7. Paora Kemp 8. Josh Hoffman 9. Corey Davis 10. Ngarima Pita 11. Kelly Tate 12. Brendon McBryde 13. Andrew Clayton 14. Cody McIntosh 15. Semisi Ahofai 16. Jacob Paulo 17. Te Rore Puke
Coach: Ron Troutman
Easts Tigers
1. Brandon Downey 2. Michael Pouhila 3. Leon Ellia-Niukore 4. Brett Ferguson 5. David McKenna 6. Adrian Henley 7. Rex Johnson 8. Gene Ropoama 9. Charles Burchell 10. Anton Iaria 11. Michael Egan 12. Tekina Vailea 13. Luke Lavelle 14. Kevin Bell 15. Liufau Hala 16. Jack Schaffer 17. Matt Richards
Coach: David Krause
Wests Brisbane Panthers – bye
