The Sunshine Coast Falcons have upset the Northern Pride's party in Weipa, taking home the two points for Activate! Queensland Country Week.
In a thrilling showdown at Andoom Oval, crowd favourites the Pride were unable to stop a powerhouse performance from the Falcons, who claimed four tries to two to post a 24-8 scoreline.
With fullback Luke Polselli captaining the team for the first time, the Sunshine Coast arrived in Weipa determined to push themselves into the top eight.
And they leapfrogged the Pride to do so, with Polselli proud of the effort shown by his team.
“It was definitely something we needed,” Polselli said of the win.
“We’ve been close over the last few weeks. Taking out Burleigh was a big confidence boost and last week we let ourselves down but we’re back on top now after today’s win.
“We’re just trying to be consistent. There’s too much dropped ball at the moment and we’re really trying hard to fix that.
“I also feel like our team has been changing a fair bit. But now we have a solid squad, I think we’re just going to keep getting better and better."
The Weipa crowd were loud and proud on Saturday, with the majority of those in attendance backing the Pride.
The Cairns-based club have been in Weipa for most of the week in some capacity and fullback Julian Christian said he was disappointed the Pride weren't able to deliver a win to their supporters.
However, he was proud of his side's effort, with the Pride still in the battle to make this year's finals series.
"We wished it could have went different," Christian said.
"Hopefully they’re all so proud of our efforts. The crowd were outstanding and we wanted to give them everything we could. We hope they’re so proud.
"We left everything out there for them.
"The scoreboard doesn’t reflect our efforts. I was proud of the boys’ efforts for the full game.
"It’s a great community, great people and we hope we get the opportunity to come back and do it again."
Match: Devils v WM Seagulls
Round 18 -
home Team
Devils
12th Position
away Team
WM Seagulls
5th Position
Venue: Wondai Sporting Complex, Wondai
Elsewhere, Norths Devils kicked off Round 18 with a stunning 44-32 victory over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in hot conditions at Wondai Sporting Complex.
In a tight, seesawing affair, the Devils went into halftime up 20-12, but had to endure a second half comeback from the Seagulls.
The Devils managed to hold on though to give centre Tony Tumusa a win in his 100th Cup game.
"Coming into this game, all I wanted was a win and we got a win and it keeps our season alive too, which is good," Tumusa said.
"It was back and forth but our boys stuck through it and stuck to the game plan and we got it.
"It was an awesome crowd too, a lot of Norths fans out here, which was good. I’m very happy. It made my game a lot easier... they weren’t booing me."
The loss for Wynnum Manly also ended a lengthy winning streak, with the Seagulls stringing together seven victories in the lead up to Round 18.
A defeated Luke Gale said the performance from his team just wasn't good enough, despite how close the scoreline was in the end.
"It’s pretty disappointing coming off seven wins in a row," the Wynnum Manly skipper said.
"We were looking forward to this round but just didn’t turn up.
"We knew (Norths) were a team that needed to get off to a fast start and we let them do that and it just didn’t work out.
"We had four debutants and all their families here so to not get the win today, it’s just disappointing."
Match: Dolphins v Bears
Round 18 -
home Team
Dolphins
3rd Position
away Team
Bears
2nd Position
Venue: Centenary Oval, Miles
Redcliffe meanwhile came away from Miles with a convincing 38-6 upset win over the second-placed Burleigh Bears.
Inspired by another electric performance from Trai Fuller - who bagged a hat-trick, including two tries in the opening 25 minutes - the Dolphins went back-to-back after a win over Tweed last week.
Five-eighth Max Plath said it wasn't a pretty win, but it was what Redcliffe needed as they ramp up their finals push.
"As a team, it was a bit of a scrappy game to be honest,” he said.
“I thought we played better last week. We’ve got strike power and boys like Trai, Brayden McGrady, Tesi Niu… that’s what got us home in the end.
“Defending hard and showing up for each other, that’s what we’re all about and it’s working for us.
"(Attitude) is the difference between the good teams and bad teams. We’ve been focusing on that. The attitude at the end of the day is going to get you home.
“We needed a couple of wins. It’s good to be back in the winner’s circle and getting some momentum heading into the finals.”
Fuller meanwhile said his good form was just coming off the back of enjoying his football.
"I’m just enjoying it, I guess," Fuller said.
"It’s been good playing alongside the boys and I’ll just keep enjoying my footy.
"Both teams (put on a show) and it was a tough game. Two pretty good teams came together out here and it would be special for (Miles) for Country Round."
Match: Jets v Capras
Round 18 -
home Team
Jets
15th Position
away Team
Capras
7th Position
Venue: Biloela Sporting Complex , Biloela
In Bileola, the Central Queensland Capras posted a much-needed and commanding 46-6 victory over the Ipswich Jets.
Match: Tigers v Seagulls
Round 18 -
home Team
Tigers
4th Position
away Team
Seagulls
6th Position
Venue: Kilcoy Sport Centre , Kilcoy
Tweed meanwhile returned to the winner's circle after losing to Redcliffe last week, getting the two points with a 38-12 win over the Brisbane Tigers in Kilcoy.
Match: Magpies v Cutters
Round 18 -
home Team
Magpies
1st Position
away Team
Cutters
14th Position
Venue: Les Stagg Oval, Proserpine
And in the final game on Saturday, the competition-leading Souths Logan claimed a very tight 14-12 win over the Mackay Cutters in Proserpine.
