Battle of the Capricorn Coast ends in a draw

In the Rockhampton and District Junior Rugby League match of the round, it was the battle of the Capricorn Coast that got everyone talking.

The Emu Park Under 13s travelled up the beach to take on Yeppoon in the first game of the night and it was the Seagulls who dominated from the start.

They could get into the Emus’ half in the first set and Connor Wyllie dived over for the first points for a 6-0 lead.

Both sides settled down to their game plans and were unable to get within range of points.

Yeppoon then gained some ascendancy and after some lead up work, Rydell Tyrell dived over to give the home side a 10-0 lead.

Both sides then traded sets with no one able to make any impressions before the halftime siren.

The instructions from coach Jason Field for his Emu players was to back themselves in attack and when they got their chance in the second half, they took advantage.

In the third minute, Charlie Swaffield took advantage of some good play and scored close to the posts and the Emus were back in it at 10-6.

Both sides tried to consolidate, but it was again the Emus that got the points when Tavita Penaia Te'O scored, and Sam Armstrong’s conversion put them in front for the first time in the match.

The momentum was really giving the Emu's some confidence and when Charlie Swaffield scored his second, they had jumped to a 16-10 lead over Yeppoon.

However, a mistake from Emu Park helped Yeppoon, and with good field position, Tyrrell scored his second to level the scores at 16-16.

With five minutes remaining, both sides were looking for victory.

The visitors were set to steal the two points when Te'O scored his second but with only a minute left on the clock, Emu Park let Yeppoon back into the game and they capitalised with Logan Steers scoring out wide.

Both team benches were on the edge of their seats as the conversion attempt was taken, but disappointingly for Seagulls fans, the kick was waived away and game finished a 20-20 draw.

In the other Under 13 games, Cap Coast’s Banjo Walker scored a hat-trick in their win over Gracemere at Cedric Archer Park whilst the Rocky Tigers shut out Brothers at Colts with Ethan Halberstater again stamping himself as a prolific try scorer, bagging three in the first half.

In the Under 14s, the top sides again stamped their authority on the competition.

At Barmaryee, Ryan Keating’s double for Yeppoon aided the Seagulls in proving they were too good for Emu Park.

Cap Coast are the 'Winx' of this age group, keeping their winning form going by defeating Woorabinda with Ryan Martin getting a first half double. 

The Gymmy Grounds was the venue for the Norths v Brothers White fixture with the Brethren getting the win, thanks to Jack Millgate scoring the last two tries of the game; and in the final game of the night, Brothers Blue defeated Rocky Tigers with Ryder Huth and Branden Jenkins both getting doubles.

The reduced Under 15 competition keeps throwing up some big scores and last Friday night was no different.

Cap Coast took on Yeppoon and came away with the points.

John Moore claimed a double for Cap Coast and Yeppoon’s Kai Mclean scored the only two tries for his side.

Brothers headed over to Colts for their game against a determined Rocky Tigers, but it was the Brethren coming away with the points with Carter Wight scoring three of his four tries in the first half.

In the Under 16s, Cap Coast continue to top the table and consolidated their position with a big win over Woorabinda with Ian Akiba tearing the Warriors’ defence apart, scoring three of the Coast’s tries.

Yeppoon hold onto second place on the ladder, getting over the top of Emu Park with Blake Anders getting 10 of Yeppoon’s points and Basowe Wosome scoring the Emu's only try.

Gracemere were given a big scare by Norths on Friday night.

The Cubs were looking comfortable leading 16-0, which included a double to Chemal Hamilton, but with nine minutes remaining, the Knights stormed home to only miss out by a four-pointer.

In the senior grade of the night, the Under 18s put on some exciting footy.

In the battle of the Knights, it was the older Norths Blue that took the points, winning 22-6.

The White Knights did stun their counterparts early when Corey Cunningham scored first but that was their only points of the night with a double to Jaiden Mann aiding Blue’s big win.

Cap Coast Tigers were looking for a winning double when they took on Brothers Blue, but even after losing a player early in the game and playing with 12 men, they really stuck to the Brethren to finish the night only a try behind.

In the final game of the night, Yeppoon joined Emu Park at the top of the table when they got home 12-6, with tries to William Simmons and Barley Sims getting the Seagulls home.

ROUND 6 BOYS RESULTS

UNDER 13

Yeppoon 20 defeated Emu Park  20
Cap Coast Brothers 32 defeated Gracemere 0
Rocky Tigers 40 defeated Brothers 0

LADDER: Tigers 10, Cap Coast 10, Yeppoon 9, Emu Park 7, Norths 6, Brothers 4, Gracemere 2

UNDER 14

Yeppoon 34 defeated Emu Park 0
Cap Coast Brothers 54 defeated Woorabinda 8
Brothers Blue 36 defeated Rocky Tigers 0
Brothers White 28 defeated Norths 12

LADDER: Cap Coast 12, Brothers Blue 10, Yeppoon 10, Brothers White 5, Tigers 5, Norths 4, Woorabinda 2, Emu Park 0

UNDER 15

Cap Coast Brothers 32 defeated Yeppoon 10
Brothers Blue 42 defeated Rocky Tigers 16

LADDER: Cap Coast 12, Brothers 10, Norths 8, Yeppoon 4, Tigers 2

UNDER 16

Cap Coast Brothers 36 defeated Woorabinda 4
Yeppoon 26 defeated Emu Park 6
Gracemere 16 defeated Norths 12

LADDER: Cap Coast 12, Yeppoon 10, Brothers 8, Gracemere 8, Emu Park 6, Norths 4, Woorabinda 0

UNDER 18

Norths Blue 22 defeated Norths White 6
Brothers 16 defeated Cap Coast Tigers 10
Yeppoon 12 defeated Emu Park 6

LADDER: Yeppoon 10, Emu Park 10, Norths Blue 8, Brothers 6, Cap Coast Tigers 2, Norths White 0

ROUND 7 BOYS FIXTURES

Friday, March 29

St Brendan's College, Yeppoon

Gymmy Grounds, North Rockhampton

Victoria Park, Rockhampton

Colts Ground, North Rockhampton

ROUND 3 GIRLS FIXTURES

Browne Park, Rockhampton