QCUP Round 5: Ipswich Jets vs Northern Pride [Archive]

DIEHARD

10-04-10, 02:25 PM

Ipswich Jets

1. Luke Walker 2. Ramon Filipine 3. Marshall Chalk 4. Brendon Marshall 5. Smith Samau 6. Todd Riggs 7. Callum Waldrum 8. Paul Stephenson 9. Michael Fisher 10. Tyson Lofipo 11. Jacob Ling 12. Keiron Lander 13. Adam Boettcher 14. Dan Coburn 15. AJ Gilbert 16. Ryan Barton 17. Moses Manu
Coach: Glenn Lazarus

Pride

1. Chey Bird 2. Michael Bani 3. Brett Anderson 4. Jamie Frizzo 5. Ty Williams 6. Theeran Pearson 7. Chris Sheppard 8. Ben Laity 9. Clint Amos 10. Jaiman Lowe 11. Carl Webb 12. Mark Cantoni 13. Rod Griffin 14. Jason Roos 15. Nick Slyney 16. Noel Underwood 17. Dane Hogan
Coach: David Maiden

DIEHARD

12-04-10, 06:12 PM

Jets In Stirring Comeback Win

ALTHOUGH it was undoubtedly unscripted, Glenn Lazarus might want to write down the spray he gave his team at half time – because whatever it was he said; it worked.

Down 16-0 at halftime, the Jets produced a stunning turnaround to win the game 22-16.

Played in 30 degree heat at North Ipswich Reserve, both teams were scrappy early with Ipswich particularly so – handing over the ball to the opposition regularly.

The Pride had the better of the attack early – but the Jets somehow managed to hold them out after enduring repeat sets on their line.

The visitors also broke the Jets line twice and seemed destined to score, only to have the last pass pulled up both times.

Rod Griffin – who had a strong half – showed no signs of concern despite landing awkwardly in a tackle that saw both Adam Boettcher and Moses Manu placed on report.

Griffin was the first to convert the Pride’s good field position into points when he fed the Jets defenders a dummy and carried the ball over the line 20 minutes into the contest.

After the PNG international showed his team how it was done – the next tries quickly followed, with Carl Webb scoring the Pride’s second, running on to a lovely inside ball from skipper Chris Sheppard.

And with only minutes to go until the halftime break, a penalty gave the ball back to the Pride and fullback Chey Bird broke his way out of a Smith Samau tackle to score under the posts and give the Pride a seemingly unassailable 16-0 lead.

The makings of the Jets’ incredible comeback were not immediately evident when the sides came back on the field, with the home side continuing to make fundamental handling errors.

But the improvement coincided with the injection of AJ Gilbert from the bench, with the former Queensland Red lighting a spark in attack.

The first try for the Jets came off the back of a strong Gilbert run and a good pass from young halfback Callum Waldrum to Smith Samau.

The second and third tries came in quick succession, with a positive kick from Samau high into the corner of the field providing too much for Michael Bani and Ipswich winger Luke Walker was there to pick up the scraps.

The third came from a huge run from 10 metres out by prop forward Tyson Lofipo who brushed aside four tacklers to level the scores 16-all with 15 minutes left in the game.

Ipswich were on a roll and could sniff an upset, and both sides lifted their intensity to try and claim their second win of the season.

The Pride thought they had broken the deadlock when Bani touched down in the corner, but Walker had managed to push the North Queensland winger into touch.

So it was only fitting that it was Gilbert who scored the match winner, coming from dummy half and barging over to complete the comeback.

The win was Ipswich’s first since their round 1 victory over Easts at the North Ipswich and should provide Lazarus’ team with a huge lift in confidence heading into next Sunday’s clash against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

Source: http://www.qrl.com.au