| 2008 Queensland Cup | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 15 – September 13, 2008 |
| Teams | 11 |
| Premiers | |
| Minor premiers | |
| Matches played | 116 |
| Points scored | 5,635 |
| Top points scorer | |
| Player of the year | |
| Top try-scorer | |
← 2007 2009 → | |
The2008 Queensland Cup season was the 13th season ofQueensland's top-level statewiderugby league competition run by theQueensland Rugby League. The competition, known as theQueensland Wizard Cup due to sponsorship from Wizard Home Loans featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season (including finals) from March to September.[1]
TheSouths Logan Magpies won their first premiership after defeating theIpswich Jets 24–18 atNorth Ipswich Reserve.Central Comets'five-eighth Nat Bowman was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning theCourier Mail Medal.[2][3][4]
Two new teams entered the Queensland Cup in 2008, as the competition expanded north with theMackay Cutters and theNorthern Pride. Mackay hadn't hosted a team since the1996 season, while the Pride, based inCairns, were represented by theCairns Cyclones from 1996 to 2000. The two new clubs replaced theAspley Broncos andNorth Queensland Young Guns, who withdrew from the competition.[5]
With the loss of Aspley and the Young Guns, theBrisbane Broncos andNorth Queensland Cowboys formed new feeder club partnerships. The Broncos sent players to six different clubs and the Cowboys sent players to the Cutters and Pride, while theCanberra Raiders formed a partnership with theSouths Logan Magpies. 2008 marked the first season since 1997 that theMelbourne Storm were not affiliated with theNorths Devils, instead forming theCentral Coast Storm who played in theNSW Cup.[6]
| Colours | Club | Home ground(s) | Head coach(s) | Captain(s) | NRL Affiliate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | Jim Lenihan | Shane O'Flanagan | ||
| Central Comets | Browne Park | Wayne Barnett | Wayne Barnett | ||
| Easts Tigers | Langlands Park | Darren Smith | Trent Young | ||
| Ipswich Jets | North Ipswich Reserve | Kevin Walters | Danny Coburn | ||
| Mackay Cutters | Mackay JRL Grounds | Shane Muspratt | Shane Muspratt | ||
| Northern Pride | Barlow Park | Andrew Dunemann | Chris Sheppard | ||
| Norths Devils | Bishop Park | Mark Gee | Marc Brentnall | ||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | Dolphin Oval | Gary O'Brien | Troy Lindsay | ||
| Souths Logan Magpies | Davies Park | Paul Bramley | Phil Dennis | ||
| Tweed Heads Seagulls | Ned Byrne Field | Michael Woods | Brad Davis | ||
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Kougari Oval | Shane McNally | Darren Bain |
| 2008 Queensland Cup | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 656 | 329 | +327 | 36 | |
| 2 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 592 | 378 | +214 | 32 | |
| 3 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 494 | 416 | +78 | 30 | |
| 4 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 526 | 514 | +12 | 28 | |
| 5 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 498 | 418 | +80 | 27 | |
| 6 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 528 | 506 | +22 | 26 | |
| 7 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 454 | 462 | -8 | 21 | |
| 8 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 507 | 535 | -28 | 19 | |
| 9 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 416 | 488 | -72 | 19 | |
| 10 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 404 | 595 | -191 | 18 | |
| 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 288 | 722 | -434 | 8 | |
The 2008 Queensland Cup regular season featured 22 rounds, with one team receiving a bye in each round. Each team played 20 games and received two byes.[citation needed]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | |||||
| Qualifying / Elimination Finals | ||||||
| 16 – 50 | 23 August 2008 | BMD Kougari Oval | ||||
| 16 – 40 | 24 August 2008 | Davies Park | ||||
| Semi-finals | ||||||
| 34 – 16 | 30 August 2008 | Briggs Road Complex | ||||
| 16 – 14 | 30 August 2008 | Meakin Park | ||||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||
| 12 – 16 | 6 September 2008 | Langlands Park | ||||
| Grand Final | ||||||
| 18 – 24 | 13 September 2008 | North Ipswich Reserve | ||||
| Qualifying / Elimination Finals | Major / Minor Semi-finals | Preliminary Final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | 34 | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 16 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 40 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
Saturday, 13 September |
| Ipswich Jets | 18 – 24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Donald Malone1 Michael Ryan1 Aaron Sweeney1 Goals: Josh Lewis3 | 1st: 0 - 18 2nd: 18 - 6 Report | Tries: 1 McKanah Gibson 1 Cy Lasscock 1 Kyle Lodge 1 Matt Templeman Goals: 2 Tim Cannard 2 Josh White |
North Ipswich Reserve Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Justin Eastwood Player of the Match:Albert Talipeau (Souths Logan) |
| Ipswich Jets | Position | Souths Logan Magpies |
|---|---|---|
| FB | |
| 2. Scott Ireland | WG | 2. Matt Templeman |
| 3.Donald Malone | CE | 3. Kyle Lodge |
| 4. Brendon Marshall | CE | 4. Chad Grintell |
| 5.Smith Samau | WG | 5.Shea Moylan |
| 6.Josh Lewis | FE | 19.Brad Cross |
| 7.Ian Lacey | HB | 7.Albert Talipeau |
| 8. Aaron Sweeney | PR | 8. Daniel Joyce |
| 9.Michael Ryan | HK | 9. McKanah Gibson |
| 10.Isaak Ah Mau | PR | 10. Liam McDonald |
| 11. Kurtis Lingwoodock | SR | 11. Tim Cannard |
| 12.Trevor Exton | SR | 12. Lewis Balcomb |
| 13. Danny Coburn (c) | LK | 13. Josh White |
| 14. Matt McPhee | Bench | 6. Phil Dennis (c) |
| 15. Scott Alo | Bench | 14. Graham Levu |
| 16. Leigh Coghill | Bench | 16. Cy Lasscock |
| 17.Jason Bulgarelli | Bench | 17. Dashae Francis |
| Kevin Walters | Coach | Paul Bramley |
Ipswich had their best regular season to date, finishing with their first minor premiership. They then defeated theNorthern Pride in the major semi final to earn their second Grand Final appearance.Souths Logan, who finished second and qualified for the finals for just the second time, were upset by the Pride in Week 1 of the finals. In Week 2, they hosted and defeatedRedcliffe before getting revenge on the Pride and defeating them 16–12 in the preliminary final to qualify for their first Grand Final.
Souths Logan got off to a brilliant start when they forced an error off the kickoff and scored in the second minute through prop Cy Lasscock. It took them just five minutes to extend their lead when hooker McKanah Gibson dived over from dummy half in almost the exact spot of their first try. After denying two Ipswich try scoring opportunities, the Magpies crossed for their third try of the game when Matt Templeman intercepted anIan Lacey pass and sprinted away to score. With two minutes left in the half, Souths Logan converted a penalty goal from in front to lead 18-0.
Down 18, Ipswich began their fightback with a try from hookerMichael Ryan just four minutes into the second half. In the 55th minute, the Jets cut the lead to six when centreDonald Malone pulled down a Lacey kick to score. Just a minute later, Ipswich completed the comeback when prop Aaron Sweeney scored under the posts to level the scores. A tense final 20 minutes followed, with Souths Logan being denied a try in the 65th minute and Ipswich missing a field goal from in front in the 78th minute. With 40 seconds left to play, Magpies' halfbackAlbert Talipeau put his centre Kyle Lodge through a gap close to the line. Lodge was cut down short by Jets' fullback Troy O'Sullivan but got up and scored after O'Sullivan couldn't complete the tackle. Referee Justin Eastwood checked with the video referee, who awarded the try. Josh White converted the try to seal the win and give Souths Logan their first Queensland Cup premiership.[7]
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