Queensland Premier Rugby Preview – Round 5
Round 5 of Queensland Premier Rugby will see a total of 14 St.George Queensland Reds return to their respective clubs, bolstering each teams’ line-up ahead of Saturday afternoon’s matches.
Centre Campbell Magnay headlines the cohort of Queensland representatives, returning from an eight-month stint on the sidelines from injury to start in the 13 jumper for GPS in their clash against Wests.
The Reds returning to club land are as follows:
Bond: Cadeyrn Neville
Easts: Michael Gunn, Andrew Ready, Izack Rodda, Kirwan Sanday
GPS: Nick Frisby, Campbell Magnay
Norths: Brad Lacey
Souths: Caleb Timu
Sunnybank: Jake McIntyre, Henry Taefu
University of Queensland: Moses Sorovi
Wests: Lachlan Maranta, Leroy Houston
The Game of the Round will see a rematch of the 2015 Grand Final between Souths and Easts at Chipsy Wood Oval. This match will be live streamed via both Facebook LIVE and www.redsrugby.com.au.
The other matches will see GPS host their first home game of the year as they take on Wests at Yoku Road, University of Queensland will head to Hugh Courtney Oval to take on Norths and Sunnybank will face Bond University at Oldmac Oval.
Ahead of ANZAC Day next Tuesday, the four matches will see the Premier Rugby teams pause for a moment’s silence ahead of kick-off, commemorating Australia and New Zealand’s servicemen and women both past and present.
Further North Townsville and the District Rugby Union will host their 50th Anniversary celebrations across the weekend. For more info head to www.tdru.com.au.
Preview the weekend’s matches and gain further insight into the competition in the Queensland Premier Rugby Weekly digital program. VIEW PROGRAM: http://bit.ly/QPRWeeklyRD5
To view the competition ladder, follow this link: http://bit.ly/PremGradeLadder
Easts v Souths, Chipsy Wood Oval, 3:20 pm – Game of the Round
Souths hit their straps in Round 4, running in four tries to two against Bond University to come away with a 32-12 victory, they’re first of the 2017 season. The Magpies had shown glimpses in the earlier rounds but their discipline let them down as they registered a draw and two losses. This weekend, Souths will be up against an Easts outfit that’ll be hungry to bounce back after their performance against Sunnybank. Prior to facing the Dragons, Easts had been the surprise packet of 2017, with an undefeated start to the season. As it stands, both sides sit just outside of the top four and can potentially sneak in with a win. If you can’t make it to the game, you can tune into the live stream via redsrugby.com.au and Facebook LIVE.
SOUTHS: Eric Teofilo, Maile Ngauamo, Jake Simeon, Stuart Williamson, Matthew Bennett, Caleb Timu, Simana Halaifonua, Michael Tafili, Jarvis Gotty, Paul Brown, Mikaele Tela, Stephen Hunt, Rapheal Evalu, Keeghan Sefton, Niko Bueta
Coach: Elia Tuqiri
EASTS: Richie Asiata, Andrew Ready, Kirwan Sanday, Tyrell Barker, Izack Rodda, Tom Milosevic, Michael Gunn, Tyrone Pritchard, Billy Thompson, John Tibbetts, Navaitalai Tiko, Alfonso Horomia, Toby White, Charlie Olsen, David Yabsley
Coach: Anthony Connellan
GPS v Wests, Yoku Road, 3:20 pm
After a perfect two-from-two start to the season, GPS were handed their first setback of 2017 in Round 4. The Gallopers came up against a clinical UQ outfit that had GPS chasing the game from the outset. Despite the loss, GPS’ forward pack dominated the technically sound Heavies at scrum time and they’ll be confident of a similar performance against Wests. The Bulldogs should be refreshed after two weeks away from the rigours of Premier Rugby. To account for the bye they were dealt before the Easter break, Wests played an internal match against their Premier Colts side and should be confident after knocking off Sunnybank in Round 3. GPS will run out onto Yoku Rd for the first time this year with a large home crowd expected to be in attendance.
GPS: Laione Mulikahammea, Ryan Freney, Fred Burke, Kieran Johnston, Dan Gorman, Michael Richards, Enzo Mutoti, Mitch King, Nick Frisby, AJ Alatimu, Maaloga Konelio, James Herbert, Campbell Magnay, Reece Cleaton, Pat Nicholson
Coach: Anthony Mathison
WESTS: Ausetalia Vaiomanu, Cody Blackhurst, Misioka Timoteo, Spencer Walmsley, Harrison Struss, Jeremiah Lynch, Alec Fontalvo, Leroy Houston, Liam Dillon, Alec Jones, Ed Fidow, Shai Wiperi, Lachlan Maranta, Filipo Daugunu, Byron Hutchinson
Coach: Pat Byron
Norths v University of Queensland, Hugh Courtney Oval, 3:20 pm
Norths return to the Eagles’ Nest after falling agonisingly short of Brothers in Round 4. The 22-21 result meant the Eagles came away with a bonus point but they’re still searching for their first victory of the season. At polar opposites on the ladder, UQ is undefeated and have looked a class above the rest after the opening four rounds. UQ will head to Hugh Courtney Oval as favourites, but they’ll do well not to underestimate Norths because the home side will be planning an ambush. It’s taken time for Norths’ recruits to find their feet but with four games under their belt, it’s now or never. Norths have an opportunity to turn their season around by surprising the Heavies at home.
NORTHS: Tonga Ma’afu , Shane Tasi, AJ Campbell, Jack Dean, Brent Jones, Elias Power, Saula Vuaca, Raymond Moala, Nicholas Chapman, Michael Burke, Veresa Mataitini, Tyrone Lefau, Conor Chittenden, Kallum Mackay, Thomas Da Forno
Coach: Nick Fogarty
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND: Campbell Wakely, Lyall Fidow, James McColl, Patrick Morrey, Phil Potgieter, Samuel Wallis, Jack de Guingand, Jack Cornelsen, Moses Sorovi, James Dalgleish, Harry Parker, Nathan Russell, Josh Birch, Gareth Kalell, Matthew Feaunati
Coach: Mick Heenan
Sunnybank v Bond University, Oldmac Oval, 3:20 pm
The Dragons return to Oldmac Oval after a resounding 41-14 victory over Easts away from home. They led by one point at the halftime before running in four unanswered tries in the second stanza to blow Easts away. Their young backline is electric and has developed into one of the more threatening attacks in the competition. This weekend, Bond University’s defence will have to be accurate or Sunnybank will run rampant. Bond will benefit from using their Round 3 match against Brothers as a defensive blueprint. Letting in just two tries against the defending champions, Bond University were unlucky to come away with a draw. The Gold Coast side have had a mixed start to the season, recording a win, a draw and two losses, they’ll be desperate to add another win to that list.
SUNNYBANK: Bronson Fotualii, Thomas Mellor, Feao Fotuaika, Joshua Fenner, David Findlay-Henaway, Brendan Mitchell, Chazz Mahina, Meli Koliavu, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Jake Strachan, Joey Fittock, Henry Taefu, Conrad Quick, Junior Laloifi, Richard Kingi
Coach: Damon Virtue
BOND UNIVERSITY: Sam Clifton, Ben Hunt, Peryhn Martin, Ruben Fuimaono, Caderyn Neville, Callum McDonald, Joel Brown, Tai Ford, Vincent Quigley, Mitch Third, Oscar Dennis, Scott Daruda, Fredrich Keil, Adam Higgins, Michael Marshall
Coach: Sean Hedger
Related Posts
« DHL WP face testing trip to PE Late Kriel try clinch it for Pretoria side – Vodacom Super Rugby Round 9 Roundup »
