QUEENSLAND U 19 MAROONS v PNG

PNG started well and led 6-0 after only 4 minutes after a Wayne Bond try from a grubber. Qld's handling was poor early but they gradually fought there way back into the match with tries to Matt Smith and Liam Capewell in the 9 minutes before halftime allowing them to take a 10-6 lead to the break. They extended this lead to 20-6 with tries to Paul Ivan and Matt Smith in the 10 minutes after the resumption, before PNG fought back with 2 tries of their own to only trail 20-16 with 14 minutes remaining.  That would be as close as they would get with tries to David Tyrrell and Rohan Ahern in the final 5 minutes bring the final score to 32-16 to the home side, which was not a true indication of the closeness of the game.

Queensland U19 Maroons 32 (Matt Smith 2, Liam Capewell, Paul Ivan, David Tyrrell, Rohan Ahern tries; Marty Paulson 3, Brent Kuskey goals) def PNG Kundus 16 (Wayne Bond, Keith Peters, Nathan Daly tries; Jonno Coombs, Joe Bond goals)

STATS:

Penalties: Qld 6-1; Scrums: PNG 8-7; Missed Tackles: PNG 26-13; Line Breaks: Qld 7-3; Kicks Gen'l Play: PNG 13-8; Dropouts: 1-1; Tackles in Poss'n: PNG 121-117; TIP Opp 1/2: Qld 71-29;  TIP Opp 20: Qld 42-16

Completion Rates: Qld 18/37, PNG 21/32

Congratulations to ex-Sprana players Daniel Issac (Norths) and Alex Tallon (Aspley) [subsequently ruled out due to injury], and ex-Arana player Rohan Ahern (Norths) for selection in this team. A number of other U18 players have been included including Marty Paulson (Burleigh), David Tyrrell (Easts), Matt Smith (Wynnum-Manly), Rohan Ahern (Norths) and Aiden Guerra (Norths). The full side (U18*):

1. Martin PAULSON* (Burleigh Bears)

2. David TYRELL* (Easts Tigers)

3. Shane NEUMANN (Easts Tigers)

4. Daniel ISSAC* (Norths Devils)

5. Brandon BOOR (Northern) rep by Josh PHELPS (South West)

6. David GEORGIOU (Easts Tigers)

7. Matt SMITH* (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)

8. Pat McPHERSON* (Aspley Devils)

9. Brent KUSKEY (Easts Tigers)

10. Greg BYRNES (Northern)

11. Rohan AHERN* (Norths Devils)

12. Liam CAPEWELL (South West)

13. Aiden GUERRA* (Norths Devils )

Interchange:

14. Lachlan SIPPEL (Ipswich Jets)

15. Bruce KOLIO (Wynnum Manly Seagulls)

16. Brendan HOARE (Burleigh Bears)

17. Alex TALLON* (Aspley Devils) rep by Paul IVAN (Sunshine Coast)

Coach: Shane McNALLY

PNG KUNDUS DEVELOPMENT SQUAD:

1. Jonno COOMBS (Runaway Bay)

2. Dion AIYE (Mount Hagen Jets)

3. Max ROMANONG (Lae Bombers)

4. Nigel NAAWI (Ipswich Jets)

5. Jason TALI (Mount Hagen Jets)

6. Keith PETERS (Penrith Panthers)

7. Wayne BOND (Penrith Panthers)

8. Noel WASO (Lae Pirates)

9. Vernon KALYO (Lae Panthers)

10. James NIGHTINGALE (Penrith Panthers)

11. Nathan DALY (Norths Devils)

12. Nos Gabriel JIM (Chemica Cowboys)

13. Api WARIGESO (Goroka United)

Interchange:

14. J LATUMAHINA (Aspley Devils)

15. Willy SAMSON (Ramu Sugar Dragons)

16. Jeffrey PATI (Spiders)

17. Joe BOND (Aspley Devils)

Coaches: Chris ANARA and Bob BENNETT

1/2/06

Wynnum showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in the FOGS Challenge with a 40-12 trial win over Aspley today. Admittedly Aspley were below strength and the game was a scrappy affair played in oppressive conditions, but the Wynnum side showed some flashes of brilliance in attack and were resolute in defence. U18 players Matt Smith and Luke Mehninnit shone for the winners between them scoring 18 points in the first half to set up a 22-0 lead to the home side at the break.  Converted tries to Alex Tallon and Steven Johnston brought the visitors back within 10 points early in the second half, but that would be as close as they would get, with Wynnum running away to win 40-12. U18 Players from last year's Brissie U17 comp on display were Alex T, Struddy, AJ and Vaughan Eriksen for Aspley, along with Scott Millar from Wide Bay, and Matt Smith and Mitchell Muir for Wynnum , along with Nathan Beckett  (WB) and Luke Menhinnit (Twba). Incidenttaly Jacob Fauid had a very good game in a losing side in the Qld Cup trial held this evening. Scorers: Wynnum 40 (M.Smith 2, B.Cronin, M.Aitkin, L.Menhinnit, C.McQueen, W.Jensen, R.Congoo tries, Menhinnit 4 goals) def Aspley 12 (A.Tallon, S.Johnston tries, Tallon 2 goals).

In other games Wests defeated a Norths side which did not play any of its storm contracted players 24-22, and Easts defeated Souths-Logan - score tba.