Sport
31 July, 2024
Blackhawks triumph over Tigers to keep season alive
Mount Isa rugby league fans were treated to a top game of footy on Saturday afternoon.
The Townsville Blackhawks are still in the finals hunt after a hard fought victory at Mount Isa’s Alec Inch Oval on Saturday as part of QRL’s Country Week.
Rugby league fans were treated to a ding-dong battle between the Blackhawks and Brisbane Tigers, with both sides fighting to keep their seasons alive.
However, they faced an unusual preparation.
“It was a bit of a weird day, to be honest,” Townsville coach Terry Campese told North West Weekly after the win.
“We all travelled together on the same plane and jumped on the same bus and had lunch together.
“A couple of hours later and we were trying to kill each other on the footy field ... it probably wasn’t the best preparation but both sides had to go through it.”
A gritty player in his heyday, the Blackhawks coach would have been impressed with his charges on Saturday. Townsville defended its line fiercely in the first half as the Tigers ran with a strong wind.
“That was our focus all week (to start well) and the boys came out and fired from the beginning,” the winning coach said.
The Blackhawks led 12-0 after 15 minutes following converted tries from Nick Brown and Toby Thorburn.
However, the Tigers didn’t lie down and made most of the wind to level it up with seven minutes left on the clock before the break.
A late try from Dudley Dotoi – a Bowen product who must be on the radar of NRL clubs – gave Townsville a 16-12 buffer at half-time.
With conditions making it tough to maintain control of the ball, both sides struggled for ascendancy in the second stanza, but a brilliant individual play from Dotoi broke the shackles in the 54th minute.
On the last tackle of the set, the Kirwan State High graduate found himself on the left edge with 20 metres to reach the try line and four Tigers defenders to beat.
A clever chip over the first two and a fortunate bounce allowed the young gun to scoop the ball up high in the air before crossing over to score his second try.
That gave Townsville a 22-12 lead and while the Tigers closed the gap to 22-18 through a Tom McGrath converted try, the “home” side never looked like losing.
Gehamat Shibasaki pushed the margin back out to 10 in the 64th minute and a penalty goal on the hooter sealed a 12-point win.
The Blackhawks are now ninth, one point from the eighth-placed Capras, and need to win their two remaining games as they also have two byes in the final four rounds.
SCOREBOARD
Townsville Blackhawks 30 (Tries: Dudley Dotoi 2; Nick Brown, Toby Thorburn, Gehamat Shibasaki; Goals: Lennix Tovo 5) d Brisbane Tigers 18 (Tries: Tahj Wood, Asher O’Donnell, Tom McGrath; Goals: Tristan Hope 3).