North Queensland 14.16.100 defeated South Queensland 9.11.65
There’s nothing like a good old fashion North v South rivalry. Today, North Queensland took bragging rights over the southerners for the second consecutive year.
Kicking with a three-goal breeze in the first, South started like a house on fire, and the two Thompson’s were running riot.
They kicked the first five of the game, with Mark and Fraser Thompson slotting two each.
A late goal to North courtesy of James Dixon brought them back within 24-points at the first change.
Now with the breeze behind them, most expected the North boys to respond early in the second.
Zac Ewer, who was excellent through the middle all day, spotted up Haley deep and got them going in the second.
South weren’t going to roll over into the wind. They looked after the ball by foot, and ran with it by foot instead of blazing away.
Goals to De Winter and Ross really put North on the back foot, as South looked like running away with it.
Enter Matt Walsh.
The superstar from Cairns put his stamp on the game when they needed him most.
He kicked two of North’s next four, which brought them back within seven-points at the main break. It was game on.
South Queensland kicked the next two, but quick ones to Walsh and Ewer meant their advantage at the last change was just six-points.
South Queensland had their backs up against the wall defending a hard charging North team, kicking to the scoring end.
North locked the ball in the forward fifty for the majority of the quarter, and then damn walls eventually broke.
They hit the front for the first time of the day eight minutes in, and never looked back.
Walsh chimed in for four last quarter goals to take his tally to seven for the afternoon, in a best on ground performance.
North Queensland kicked six unanswered goals in the last to run out 34-point winners, and to go two nil up in the head to head battle.
