Junior statewide competitions Round 5 preview

The Magpies had an unhappy day against Wynnum Seagulls, losing 36-16; they just didn’t give themselves the best chance with 47 per cent of the ball and that makes football wins hard to come by.

The Magpies' big outside backs like Bailey Trew made one line break and scored one good try on the right with some strong running.

Trew has been moved to fullback to get the ball in his hands more and that’s exactly what the Magpies need to do. Another giant outside back at Magpies, Israel Leota, needs the ball too to have an impact on this game.

Magpies lock forward Jayden Solien made 26 tackles and front rower Mou Tuamaletila-Maulolo made 124 run metres for the Magpies and scored one determined try.

The Magpies will need to slow down the Dolphins or their big men will roll through them with momentum.

The Dolphins, coming away from Tweed with a 22-22 draw, have their own big men, trying to find their rhythm. 

They don’t come any bigger than John Fineanganofo; he came back last week for the Dolphins and scored two tries from dummy half.

The Dolphins are hanging in there and coach Scott Tronc is finding a way.

“We were pretty scrappy,” Tronc said of the performance.

“At the end of the day we hung in there, you just make your own luck by hanging in there.”

The Dolphins only had 43 per cent of the ball and statistically speaking they didn’t do much better than Tweed Seagulls but came away with a draw.

Fineanganofo's two line breaks and two tries and Michael Waqa's 104 run metres were the standouts for the Dolphins.

For the full Round 5 draw, click here.

Harvey Norman Under 19

Townsville Blackhawks were completely and utterly dominant against Northern Pride in Round 4 - it doesn’t get too much better than 50-0.

Ten tries, 64 per cent of the ball, 22-0 at half-time, 13 line breaks; Pride never saw daylight on a gloomy day.

Brandy Yallop made 254 run metres for the Blackhawks in a huge effort, lock forward Thalia Clarke was devastating and Jairel-Ellen Martin-Savage had a great running game, keeping Pride on their toes. 

The last time the Blackhawks played the Cutters it was a close game with the Blackhawks winning 12-4.

The Cutters beat the Capras 16-4 and did it with less ball and a completion rate of only 53 per cent.

The Cutters kept Capras to one try and the Capras didn’t score after the eighth minute.

Jennifer Kimber was outstanding for the Cutters with 132 run metres but the star for the Cutters was half Mersades Lawson; Lawson has class and patience written all over her and she gives Kimber time to work with it.

For the full Round 5 draw, click here.

Cyril Connell Cup

The Western Clydesdales are sitting pretty up on the range and top of the table.

This week they will be looking to keep that going against Wide Bay Bulls.

The Clydesdales showed plenty of Toowoomba-style football with a 32-22 win against the Sunshine Coast Falcons; they were always in control. 

The Clydesdales are very good at getting the ball to the players that need it and them capitalising on that good ball.

They scored six tries with one man down and the Falcons didn’t score after the 46th minute, while the Clydesdales closed out the game with a further two tries.

These two have already clashed this year, with the Clydesdales winning 46-12.

Wide Bay didn’t have a great day out against Ipswich Jets in Round 4, losing 58-12. It was only 18-12 at halftime but in the second half Wide Bay gave up 40 points.

For the full Round 5 draw, click here.

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