Battle of the hookers set to determine contest
THE Intrust Super Cup’s busiest two hookers will square off tomorrow in an enthralling duel at Pizzey Park.
Pat Politoni, 27, has established himself as the competition’s premier rake since joining Burleigh in 2016 and has been pivotal to the club’s 10-3 start to the season.
Tomorrow, he will go headto-head with a form man seven years his junior in Sunshine Coast and Melbourne Storm protege Harry Grant.
No player has touched the ball more than Politoni (1172) this season and Grant is next in line at 1078.
In defence, the pair sit second and third on the tackle tally with 448 (average 37) and 430 (average 36) respectively.
Crafty Politoni is in the competition’s top five for try assists (10) and line break assists (nine) while Grant has taken the most dummy-half runs (85) of all by far.
The Bears, who should have Blake Leary back, enter the contest as favourites to bounce back from their 30-28 loss to the Northern Pride.
The match will be preceded by a representative showdown between the Queensland Rangers and NSWRL Pioneers at noon.
Tweed Heads forward Rory Lillis has been called up as 18th man for the Rangers after selectors were forced to make late changes due to players being picked for Intrust Super Cup duties.
It follows a familiar pattern for former Titans under-20 player Lillis, having been a last-minute call-up for the first step of the rugby league representative pathway – the Gold Coast Vikings – where he impressed enough to proceed into the South East Queensland side.
Runaway Bay’s Jamie Anderson will play in the centres for the Rangers.