Some fans of the Intrust Super Cup did a double take over the weekend when they saw the starring role played by gun centre Izaia Perese in the big win by the Redcliffe Dolphins over the CQ Capras.
Didn’t he just make his NRL debut with the Broncos the night before?
Coming off the bench at the end of the second half; the former Queensland representative junior made three runs for 34m in his six minutes on the field.
As he played less than 10 minutes overall; under the rules of the Intrust Super Cup competition; he was allowed to drop back from the NRL level to play for his club Redcliffe in their Round 21 game.
This sort of situation has previously happened elsewhere in the game as well, including last year when former Bulldogs star Rhyse Martin played three seconds of his NSW Cup match in order to qualify for their finals campaign, while also allowing him to play in the club’s NRL match later that afternoon.
Intrust Super Cup Round 21 highlights: Dolphins v Capras
The eligibility rules for Queensland’s statewide competition players can be found in the QRL Major Competitions operations manual. The rule states that:
- Any player who plays ten (10) minutes or less in any fixture of any level may seek approval from the Competitions Manager or his nominee to play in a lower level match on the same weekend.
Luckily for the Dolphins, the NRL experience had Perese primed for a big performance, with the ex-Red making just under 300m on his way to crossing for three tries.
“I think it says a lot about Izzy and our footy club that he wanted to play tonight,” Redcliffe coach Adam Mogg said after their match.
“It would’ve been easy for him to celebrate his NRL debut, but he chose not to and wanted to play tonight, (even though) I gave him the option not to.”
The QRL Major Competitions operations manual – relevant rule
- Eligibility – Fixtures and Finals
11.12. A player who participates in an Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup or Hastings Deering Colts match on any given weekend shall not be eligible to participate in any other QRL match on the same weekend without the approval of the Competitions Manager or his nominee.
11.12.1. Any player who plays ten (10) minutes or less in any fixture of any level may seek approval from the Competitions Manager or his nominee to play in a lower level match on the same weekend.
