LEAGUE RETURNS TO STADIUM
Ipswich sides fire as senior league returns to Toowoomba
RUGBY LEAGUE: Ipswich sides scored a points victory over a trio of TRL sides in the latest round of the Volunteers Cup.
Round six of the inter-district season saw the first senior competition fixtures in Toowoomba in 2020, and the first senior game since the All Stars vs Emus clash.
To kick off the triple header at Toowoomba Sports Ground, Gatton had to contend with Norths.
The Hawks fought back from an early deficit as they trailed 12-4 at the break, before fighting back through tries to Joel Brett and Jayden Kirner to lead by two with 10 minutes to play.
Not to be outdone, Norths hit back in the final stages of the contest to come out on top 18-14.
Next up, competition heavyweights Valleys and Goodna clashed, with the former looking to extract revenge for an opening round defeat, and the latter striving to keep their unbeaten run alive.
In a seesawing battle that saw both teams combine for 15 tries, it was the visitors that came away on top, running out 46-40 winners.
Chris Chalmers and Brock Diment both finished with a double for the Roosters, who led 30-18, before a rampaging Goodna piled on five tries without response to take control of the contest.
That meant that the hopes of the TRL coming away with a victory on the day rested with Southern Suburbs.
Despite having 60 points put on them by Goodna last weekend, the Tigers fired back with an early resolve in
defence.
Finding themselves down 8-0 at halftime, Souths continued to remain in the contest, creating a game of it with tries to Tate McCormack and Blake Lollback.
A second try to Lollback in the 71st minute after some impressive work from Wade Austin gave them the lead, as they held on to claim an 18-12 victory.
“We had a few back from injury. It was a tough game, and it’s good to grind one out and not come away disappointed,” five-eighth Mitch Tuite said.
“Considering what happened last week, it doesn’t play on your mind, but to have 40 put on you in a half is tough.
“To be able to turn that around in a week is a positive. Everyone kept turning up and putting in, we can build off that.
“One thing we can take away from that is nobody shied away from the arm wrestle.”
Tuite said they were able to take a great deal of confidence from an improved first half, and their freshness late in the contest allowed them to get over the top of Norths.
“It’s something Liam (Capewell) has been working on, to try and keep a few interchanges for late in the game,” he said.
“It allows us to play rapid fire football if we’re in the game.
“For us it was a matter of being in the contest for the first 60 minutes, and executing the game plan when it came down to it.
“To be able to execute it to the way we wanted in that second half was very pleasing.”
The win moves Southern Suburbs back into fourth spot on the ladder, with Valleys in second and Gatton sitting in sixth.