One that got away
Blackhawks fumble chance in Colts qualification final
THE under- 20s Townsville Blackhawks were left to rue a handful of missed opportunities in their 18- 14 loss to Norths Devils in Saturday’s Colts qualification final.
But there will be a second chance for the Blackhawks, who will now play the Northern Pride in this weekend’s preliminary final.
The game is all but certain to be held at Jack Manski Oval on Saturday, with Queensland Rugby League officials to confirm the venue early this week.
Trailing 12- 4 at halftime after conceding two unanswered tries before the break, the Blackhawks weathered a passage of strong Norths’ territory and possession to score midway through the second stanza thanks to Solomon Vasuvulagi.
The lock scored under the posts after interchange player Duarne Dempsey made a break up the middle, passing inside to Vasuvulagi in support to make it 12- 10.
From there the Blackhawks had all the running and looked like scoring five minutes later, only for an edge play to come unstuck and Norths regather possession.
Norths than scored against the run of play with two minutes to go, with five- eighth Jarome crashing through some Blackhawks defence.
The Blackhawks had the last say, however, with Ben Condon scoring on full- time.
Handling errors, 50- 50 calls and decision- making proved costly for the young Blackhawks, who started the game strongly and led 4- 0 for much of the opening half after an early try from winger Lindsey Kirk.
“I think the better team won,” Blackhawks coach David TangataToa said. “We had our moments there to win the game, but we weren’t good enough.
“You probably earn them ( 50- 50 calls) and we probably didn’t earn it, so we have another week to fix up what we were poor at and then go from there.”
Blackhawks captain Sam Martin said fatigue played a role in the Saturday afternoon arm- wrestle.
“Our spine could have made better options towards the back end of the game, but it just wasn’t our day,” Martin said.
“Norths are a very strong team and it showed on the field.” NORTHS DEVILS 18 ( K Hethrington, F Easthope, G Burns: G Burns 3 goals) TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 14 ( L Kirk, S Vasuvulagi, B Condon) Hughes heavy