Week two of the Hasting Deering Colts finals has been completed and the Townsville Blackhawks and Redcliffe Dolphins are going into week three, one game away from Kayo Stadium on grand final day.
The preliminary finals will start on Saturday with the red-hot Tweed Seagulls - coming off a week off - to play host to the Townsville Blackhawks while on Sunday it will be the Brisbane Tigers clashing with the Redcliffe Dolphins in a traditional Brisbane rivalry.
In week two, the Blackhawks have recovered from their week one loss and found some startling form with a 44-30 win over the Sunshine Coast Falcons. The Dolphins meanwhile beat the Burleigh Bears 33-20.
Match: Bears v Dolphins
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Bears
away Team
Dolphins
Venue: UAA Park, Gold Coast
Finals Week 2
The moments that mattered
A fast start in finals will win you friends, fans and games, and both the Blackhawks and Dolphins did exactly that in week two.
Townsville scored twice in the first eight minutes and from there they had all the momentum.
Townsville’s human wrecking ball Jamal Shibasaki knows the value of straight, hard running and that’s what he found when one off the ruck he smashed his way through and over the line to slam the ball down.
It was the classic 'follow me, boys' play.
Jesse Yallop scored three tries but his first was four minutes after Shibasaki had scored, and the Falcons' heads dropped lower.
Blackhawks went the short side and stripped the Falcons of numbers for Yallop to score. Shibasaki was there again and the Falcons were worried about the damage the big man could do and forgot about the impact of the winger.
The message was clear from the Blackhawks that they were there to win.
Match: Blackhawks v Falcons
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Blackhawks
away Team
Falcons
Venue: Jack Manski Oval, Townsville
If Townsville had a fast start when they scored in the fourth minute, then the Dolphins had a burning start.
Playing the Bears on home turf, Redcliffe needed to make a statement early and Corey Thomas did just that with a neat little kick and regather to grab a lead for the Dolphins in the right-hand corner.
The Dolphins were running downhill from there and led 20-0 at halftime with one foot in the door for week three.
If the first try sent a message, then the three tries before the break jammed the envelope in the Bears’ mailbox.
Tries in clumps are inviting disappointment into your life in finals; you have to defend repeated efforts and the team that can do that wins. The Dolphins kept coming away with points.
Shout outs
Stats can tell a finals story and two players that stood out with huge contributions were Jesse Yallop and James Walsh.
Yallop was a pillar of finals strength for the Blackhawks, with 162 run metres, two line breaks and three tries - close to the perfect winger’s performance.
Meanwhile on the Dolphins' edge was James Walsh.
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Heavy lifter: James Walsh
The No.12 was hitting holes and breaking the line with 175 run metres, three line breaks, nine tackle busts, two offloads and a hat-trick of tries to top it all off.
It’s a half’s dream to look up and see your backrower just steaming through a hole and demanding the ball.
The Bears' Adam Christensen was also a standout in a losing side, with 258 run metres and two line breaks.
Meanwhile, Elliot Smethills made three line breaks for the Falcons and scored their first two tries.
