Round 12 Sunday wrap: Tigers pip Capras at the post in blockbuster showdown
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The Brisbane Tigers have maintained their place in the top three on the Hostplus Cup ladder, after edging out the Central Queensland Capras in an almighty battle at Totally Workwear Stadium.
In a nail-biting finish, the Tigers were leading 20-14 when the fast-finishing Capras sent winger Brandon Roberts over in the corner with 30 seconds left on the clock.
Hooker Trey Browne then had an opportunity to secure a draw for his side, but - with a boisterous Tigers home crowd sitting behind him - the talented rake missed his shot from the sideline, handing the Tigers the two points.
Brisbane skipper Ryley Jacks knew after the match that his side had just escaped with the victory, with the game finishing in similar circumstances to last week's two-point win over the Mackay Cutters.
Match: Tigers v Capras
Round 12 -
home Team
Tigers
3rd Position
away Team
Capras
5th Position
Venue: Totally Workwear Stadium, Brisbane
"Both sides played really well," Jacks said after the game.
"It felt like a finals game out there to be fair and we knew it would be. They've been great all year.
"It came down to a kick again so that's two weeks in a row. We have to stop doing that to ourselves ... it's awful. Looking on is the worst part.
"But whatever was going to be was going to be. We got lucky today but we can't let things like that happen in a final.
"For us (to work on), it's finishing out the game. There's too many errors that put us under pressure especially towards the end of the game so that's one thing we will touch on tomorrow night at training."
Ahead of the match the Tigers and Capras were sitting in third and fourth spot on the ladder respectively, with the stage set for a blockbuster showdown.
Both teams delivered, going at it hammer and tongs for the full 80 minutes.
The win saw the Tigers remain in third - behind new competition leaders, Souths Logan and second-placed Burleigh - while the Capras slid down to fifth, now sitting below Redcliffe.
In-form Central Queensland prop Bailey Butler - who was instrumental once again for his side - said the Capras are still searching for their best.
They started the year with six consecutive wins, but have struggled in recent weeks to find the two points, claiming one win and a draw from their last five appearances.
"We were good in some areas but as the season goes on we're still trying to find our best performance," Butler said.
"Every week is like a learning curve.
"We try to play tough and strong, try to dominate, that's our style of footy. We try to go tough and hard from the start.
"We're finding some strong points but we still drop the ball too much so we need to find a way to fix that up."
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Northern Pride claimed a solid win over the Ipswich Jets at North Ipswich Reserve in the Round 12 feature match.
Match: Jets v Pride
Round 12 -
home Team
Jets
15th Position
away Team
Pride
7th Position
Venue: North Ipswich Reserve, Ipswich
Going into halftime up 18-12, it seemed an upset could have been on the cards, with the Jets still yet to find a win in 2023.
But the Pride did enough in the second half to secure a victory, scoring two tries through Ewan Moore and Will Partridge.
For the Saturday results from Round 12, click here.
