XXXX Chairman's Challenge: Gold Coast snatch victory in tense finale

A stunning intercept in the dying minutes of the final XXXX Chairman's Challenge clash has seen Gold Coast claim the 2022 championship.

It was a tense finale at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast, with the home team and Brisbane Red fighting it out for this year's title.

And the result went right down to the wire after Ipswich caused a massive shock in the opening A grade match of the day, drawing 24-all with contenders, Brisbane Red.

All the Gold Coast needed to do was win or get their own draw with Brisbane Blue, but the result wasn't made easy for them as Blue fought hard down to the very dying seconds.

It was Gold Coast winger Queille Murray however who came through as the match winner, grabbing an intercept in the final minute of the match.

He raced away to seal the deal for the Gold Coast with an 18-12 victory - it's just lucky he didn't take note of how close the game was to finishing.

"I wasn't really looking at the clock," he said.

"It's lucky that I wasn't or else I wouldn't have went for it. I dropped another attempt so it was good to get that one.

"It was do-or-die. The second rower or the lock got the offload and my first thought was, 'he's going to pass it' so I got myself in the middle and went for it.

"I was relieved to get it down. The boys deserve it."

The Gold Coast were the only team of the A grade tournament to win both matches, sealing the overall victory for them.

They will now advance to the XXXX League Championship final, where they will take on the winner of the semi-final between Townsville and Rockhampton.

On the Saturday, a second half try-scoring blitz put the Gold Coast Vikings in top spot for the XXXX Chairman's Challenge.

After claiming a tight 16-12 lead over Ipswich at halftime, the Gold Coast side scored four unanswered tries in the second stanza to race away with a 40-12 victory.

With the halftime and fulltime leads, plus the strong for-and-against, the Gold Coast sat just ahead of Brisbane Red for the XXXX Chairman's Challenge title.

Brisbane Red made a strong statement in their match, claiming a 26-6 win over reigning champions Brisbane Blue, but the difference in for-and-against gave Gold Coast the edge.

Teams are awarded two points for an overall win, plus two points for winning a half.

Gold Coast and Brisbane Red both sat on six points overall after Saturday's matches, with Gold Coast holding a 28-point for-and-against advantage to Brisbane Red's 20 points.

Meanwhile, Brisbane claimed the under 20s Chairman's Challenge title, after defeating both Gold Coast and Ipswich.

Full results below

Day one results - A grade

Brisbane Red 26 def Brisbane Blue 6
Gold Coast 40 def Ipswich 12

Day two results - A grade

Brisbane Red 24 drew Ipswich 24
Gold Coast 18 def Brisbane Blue 12

Watch the replays of the A grade XXXX Chairman's Challenge matches here on Qplus.tv.

Day one results - Under 20s

Brisbane 18 def Gold Coast 0

Day two results - Under 20s

Brisbane 28 def Ipswich 6

Day three results - Under 20s

Gold Coast 48 def Ipswich 7

Watch the replays of the under 20s XXXX Chairman's Challenge matches here on Qplus.tv.