QCUP Round 12: EASTS TIGERS v IPSWICH JETS

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EASTS TIGERS v IPSWICH JETS
Langlands Park- Saturday, June 5 ? 2pm

The Tigers suffered a major blow during the week when key pair Liam Campbell (back) and Jace Van Dijk (hamstring) failed to finish training. Both players have been ruled out of the Langlands Park clash but coach Jason Gainey has found two competent replacements. Lance Morris comes in for Campbell, while Dane Phillips takes over from Van Dijk in the key pivot role. After a frustrating start to the season, the Tigers put together their best 80 minute performance of the season to comfortably beat Tweed Heads. Another victory on Saturday would put the Tigers right back in the finals mix. The match is virtually the last throw of the dice for the Jets, who again came up empty handed last week ? this time by the smallest of margins. The Jets went down 15-14 to the Comets in Rockhampton, leaving them anchored to the bottom of the table.

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

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Easts Tigers
1. Matthew Lindsay 2. Kevin Stephensen 3. Liam Campbell 4. Paoa Faamita 5. Scott Ireland 6. Jace Van Dijk (c) 7. Nathan Pill 8. Ben Vaeau 9. Dean Sheppard 10. James Stosic 11. Steven Thorpe 12. Matthew McPhee 13. Mark Offerdahl

14. Cameron Durnord 15. Daniel Fullarton 16. Ryan Peters 17. Isaac Kaufmann

Coach: Jason Gainey

Ipswich Jets
1. Smith Samau 2. Ramon Filipine 3. Marshall Chalk 4. Brendon Marshall 5. Luke Walker 6. Keiron Lander 7. Ian Lacey 8. Paul Stephenson 9. Michael Fisher 10. Warren Schillings 11. Jacob Ling 12. Vili Fainga’a 13. Adam Boettcher

14. Dan Coburn 15. Fred Tila 16. Aaron Cannings 17. Tyson Lofipo

Coach: Glenn Lazarus

Referee: Rob Gallacher

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Brawl sparked between Jets, Tigers


New Ipswich Jets signing Ronnie Alovili hits the ball up in his Queensland Cup debut.

THE Ipswich Jets' 18-14 win over the Easts Tigers was over- shadowed by a brawl sparked when a Tigers player allegedly racially abused Jets prop Aaron Cannings.

With 15 minutes left, Cannings, an eight-year NRL veteran of Tongan heritage, came out of a tackle and threw a short right which connected flush on the chin of Tigers lock Mark Offerdahl.

Players from both teams rushed in to join the melee.

When order was restored, a seething Cannings was sent from the field for striking.

But he later lodged a complaint with match officials – claiming he reacted because he was called a “black (expletive)”.

A fellow Jets player near the tackle also heard the comment and has provided a written statement confirming Cannings version.

Queensland Rugby League referees manager Eddie Ward said if there was evidence to support the alleged abuse, the Easts player would be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.

Otherwise, the incident may be dealt with through arbitration.

Easts Tigers CEO Des Morris said he was aware of the allegations. “I found out about the incident after the match but I am looking into it and will make further enquiries into what happened,” Morris said.

After losing six matches in a row, the Jets were down to 12 men with just an eight-point lead for the remaining 15 minutes.

Despite conceding another try, the Jets managed to hold on for a gritty win at Langlands Park.

It was one of the Jets' best performances all year as they completed 84 per cent of their sets in the first half.

Smith Samau had his best game of the year at fullback but, in what has been a cruel season for the Jets, he was taken off the field with an injury late in the match.

Dropped Gold Coast Titans teenager Ronnie Alovili had his first match in the Queensland Cup and played well off the bench.

In-form Jets centre Brendon Marshall said the penny had finally dropped for the Jets.

“Glenn (Lazarus) has been telling us that all we need is to play for the 80 and once we did that, we would win and that's what happened,” Marshall said.

Marshall said the Cannings incident fired up his team.

“It made us angry. But we knew not to go overboard,” he said.

“It was a pretty stupid thing to say because there's a lot of coloured boys in this team.”

Jets CEO Brad Wolens said Cannings was extremely upset by the abusive comment.

“Even after the match, he was still very hurt,” Wolens said.

“He had never heard anything like it in his time in the game.”

Ipswich Jets 18 (Marshall Chalk, Smith Samau, Ian Lacey tries; Keiron Lander 3 goals) def Easts Tigers 14 (Kevin Stephensen, Dane Phillips, Ben Vaeau tries; Nathan Pill goal) at Langlands Park.

http://www.qt.com.au/

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Hope Cannings doesn't get any action taken against him and that his complaint is given the attention it deserves.

Well done to the Jets to hold on with 12 men for the last 15mins!!

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Jets Add Finishing Touches

IPSWICH has finally done what it has struggled to do for the majority of the season – closed out a game late in the second half.

Having arrived at Langlands Park with just two wins from their opening 11 matches, the bottom-placed Jets could have easily been forgiven for going through the motions against an upbeat Easts outfit.

But the Jets shot away to an early 12-0 lead and finally ended the misery of their long-suffering supporters with a spirited 18-14 win.

The Jets were able to get the job done in the second half despite playing the last 15 minutes a man down.

With Ipswich leading 16-10, referee Robert Gallacher sent prop Aaron Cannings from the field for striking.

However, Cannings claimed he was provoked and told senior Jets officials that he would take the matter further.

The Jets lifted in the big prop’s absence, with a Keiron Lander penalty goal giving the Jets a crucial eight point buffer with nine minutes remaining.

After a glut of possession, Dane Phillips finally snuck through the Ipswich line.

But the 78th minute try came all too late for the Tigers, who looked a shadow of the team that dominated Tweed the previous week.

Ipswich set the foundations for the win with a strong opening 40 minutes that saw Marshall Chalk and Ian Lacey cross.

Easts took until the 37th minute to open their account through skipper Ben Vaeau.

But the opening exchanges of the second half belonged to the Jets, who were on course for victory when some individual brilliance from Smith Samau extended the lead to 16-6.

Samau sprinted 50m to score after getting the better of Paoa Faamita when little seemed to be on following a routine scrum win.

Kevin Stephensen’s great leap from a cross kick provided hope for Easts, but for the second time this season the Tigers couldn’t run down the Jets.

IPSWICH JETS 18 (Marshall Chalk, Smith Samau, Ian Lacey tries; Keiron Lander 3 goals) def EASTS TIGERS 14 (Kevin Stephensen, Dane Phillips, Ben Vaeau tries; Nathan Pill goal) at Langlands Park.

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