FNQRL finals: Innisfail lock in fourth grand final in six seasons

The first three grand final teams have been revealed, while the FNQRL farewelled three teams after six dramatic games of rugby league,

Relive all six games here.

MAJOR SEMI FINAL

Innisfail 33 def Ivanhoes 14

Innisfail will feature in its fourth FNQRL A-grade grand final in the past six seasons after a storming to a 33-14 win against Ivanhoe Knights in the major semi final.

The minor premiership winning Knights struck the first blow when Ivanhoes’ marquee signing and former Blues and Australia star Josh Dugan crossed in the first five minutes.

The heavyweights traded blows at a soggy Barlow Park, with Ivanhoes taking a slim 8-6 lead into the break.

The prize fighters came out swinging in the second stanza as they traded tries, but Innisfail weathered the storm – then paid it back in spades.

Lata Fakalelu was a monster in the second half with several damaging runs which broke Ivanhoes’ defensive line in two, and Leprechauns capitalised on the back of that performance to play their way home.

Innisfail crossed for three tries in the last 15 minutes, all converted by halfback Michael Morton who kicked six from six. His 75th minute field goal all but sealed victory, with Abraham Waireg-Ingui’s 77th minute try the cherry on top.

THE BOYS STOOD UP

Innisfail coach Leon Hallie could not be happier with the way that his side stayed in the fight.

And, as so often has been the case for Leprechauns this year, the responsibility of picking up the team and lifting them to another level never fell to an individual.

“It was more everyone in those effort areas, whenever we had to dig in deep and so something, we did.

“Someone like Ashton (Galea), he led the way well and made some big plays, then Lata coming on for a big spell, and coming off the back fence.

“Everyone did their job, and that gets you the result in these big games.”

Hallie said his side’s patience and execution when they dominated possession and field position set up the triumph.

“Where we set ourselves up was that early patch in the second half where we had a lot of ball,” Hallie said.

“We weren’t getting over the line.

“But we made them tackle.

“It takes its toll at the end of the day, if you stay patient.”

TOUGH BATTLE

Innisfail is widely regarded to have the best forward pack in the FNQRL but Ivanhoes showed they aren’t too far off.

The Knights went toe-to-toe with Leprechauns as the rain teemed down at Barlow Park, but the minor premiers simply gave up too much ball and tackled themselves out of the contest.

Ivanhoes coach Lindsay Styles wasn’t too concerned after full-time, with his focus shifting straight to Brothers.

“We just gave them too much ball,” Styles said.

“We did a lot of defending and they’re big bodies; there’s only so much you can do.”

RIVALS COLLIDE

Ivanhoes will now have to overcome defending premiers and longtime rivals Brothers to book their place in the decider, and Styles has already shifted his mind to the challenge.

“(Innisfail) get the week off, we’ll go to Brothers and we’ll focus on that,” Styles said.

“There’s a lot left in the Ivanhoes story for this year.”

MINOR SEMI FINAL

Brothers 22 def Kangaroos 18

Defending premiers Brothers have kept their hopes of back-to-back FNQRL A Grade titles alive with a thrilling come-from-behind 22-18 win over Kangaroos.

Brothers were already battling without key men after injuries ruled out star recruit George Burgess and winger Izac Cygler, while five-eighth Patrick Lewis was sidelined through suspension.

Exciting backrower and player-of-the-year contender Ernest Suavai also injured an ankle late in the second-half fightback.

Suavai, who had crumpled to the carpet clutching at an ankle, stayed on the field and managed to play out the game as the defending premiers fought their way back to keep tsheir title quest alive.

Young fullback Liam O’Brien was the hero for the reigning premiers when he scored an impressive solo try as the rain pounded down at Barlow Park to seal a thrilling two-point win.

O’Brien used his pace and footwork to split the Kangaroos’ defence and find the line. His 57th-minute effort ultimately sealed their spot in the preliminary final and ended Kangaroos’ year.

Kangaroos were in the fight but Brothers managed to restrict the impact of fullback Shaun Stephens and shut down the Mooroobool club’s forwards.

INNISFAIL HANGS ON

Innisfail overcame a nervous final 10 minutes to lock in its spot in the reserve grade grand final courtesy of a 20-18 win against Kangaroos.

The gripping contest seesawed as the sides traded blows throughout the 70 minutes, and when Simon Asela scored in the 61st minute it all but sealed Innisfail’s spot in the decider.

They had to hang tough, though, as Kangaroos threatened to pinch it at the death.

CLASSY GLADIATORS

Mareeba has shown they are not mucking about after the Under-18s fielded one of their strongest sides of the season to qualify for the decider.

The Gladiators were packed with A-grade talent this season, including barnstorming forwards Gabriel Tunimakubu, Narason Moorcroft-Kose and Cain Hastie, and qualified for the decider with a tough 26-24 win against a Kangaroos side which pushed them to the end.

The preliminary finals carry extra punch this Saturday with three epic clashes at Barlow Park.

The Under-18s match promises to be highly entertaining as Atherton faces Kangaroos in a rematch of last year’s grand final where the Roos dipped out. Reserves and A-grade are massive rivalry games involving defending premiers Brothers, who won both titles last season. They face Kangaroos then Ivanhoes respectively.

RESULTS

A-GRADE

MAJOR SEMI-FINAL

INNISFAIL LEPRECHAUNS 33 (Hallie, Clark, Heron, Chambers, Waireg-Ingui tries; Morton 6 goals; Morton field goal) def IVANHOE KNIGHTS 14 (Dugna, Valmadre tries; Dugan 3 goals) at Barlow Park.

MINOR SEMI-FINAL

BROTHERS 22 (Clarke, Ta’ufo’ou, Suavai, O’Brien tries; Peni 3 goals) def KANGAROOS 18 (Bin-Garape, Pearson, Thomas tries; Stephen 3 goals) at Barlow Park.

RESERVES

MAJOR SEMI-FINAL

INNISFAIL LEPRECHAUNS 20 (Aldridge, Rudken, Whaleboat, Asela tries; Laza 2 goals) def KANGAROOS 18 (Tom, Gibuma, Fauid, Wosomo tries; Gibuma goal) at Barlow Park.

MINOR SEMI-FINAL

BROTHERS 30 (Sam, Kris, Rowe, Blarrey, Costello tries; Ryan 5 goals) def MOSSMAN-PORT DOUGLAS SHARKS 20 (Solomon Riley 2, Dau, Hart tries; Deemal, Solomon Riley goals) at Barlow Park.

UNDER-18S

MAJOR SEMI-FINAL

MAREEBA GLADIATORS 26 (Tunimakubu 2, Sheppard, Moorcroft-Kose, not supplied tries; Williams 3 goals) def KANGAROOS 24 (Auda, Solomon, Sipi, Misi, Giles tries; Misi 2 goals) at Barlow Park.

MINOR SEMI-FINAL

ATHERTON ROOSTERS 28 (Royee-Asaki, Nehow, Fahlstrom, Dikes, not supplied tries; Coghlan 4 goals) def TULLY TIGERS 12 (Roebuck, Field tries; Emmi 2 goals) at Barlow Park.

FINALS WEEK 3

Saturday, September 2 at Barlow Park.

UNDER-18S

2pm: Kangaroos v Atherton Roosters.

RESERVES

4pm: Kangaroos v Brothers.

A-GRADE

6pm: Ivanhoe Knights v Brothers.

GRAND FINALS

Saturday, September 9, at Barlow Park.

UNDER-18S

2pm: Mareeba Gladiators v TBD.

RESERVES

4pm: Innisfail Leprechauns v TBD.

A-GRADE

6pm: Innisfail Leprechauns v TBD.

MATCH PREVIEWS

MAJOR SEMI FINAL

Innisfail v Ivanhoes, Saturday at 7pm.

CAMP KEY TO INNISFAIL’S CHARGE

A post-season camp for players and their families could be the secret key to unlocking the best of the Leprechauns and snapping Innisfail’s growing premiership drought.

Innisfail has made plenty of grand finals over the years but haven’t tasted premiership glory in A-grade since Ty Williams captain-coached the Leprechauns in 2015.

It’s a run which includes three heartbreaking grand final losses but one the club is keen to snap this year.

That mission’s next task comes on Saturday when Innisfail takes on Ivanhoes in the major semi final, with a spot in the September 9 grand final up for grabs for the winner.

And you can catch every minute of the action with all six semi finals at Barlow Park to be shown live by KommunityTV.

Innisfail had a bye in the first week of the finals, and rather than cram in an extra training session, coach Leon Hallie and the players organised a trip so they could better connect.

It was an eye-opening experience for Turner and his fellow troops, who hope the closer bonds they forged will help catapult them to glory.

“I’ve been to a few training camps and stuff but out of all the ones, this was probably the one which hit home with a lot of people,” Turner said.

“We don’t know our teammates as close as we thought, and that brought everyone together on a whole other level.

“You could see it at training on Tuesday.”

Innisfail will be without suspended enforcer Graham Clark Jnr but were expected to learn the availability of brother and fellow forward James at training on Thursday night.

James Clark suffered a head knock in Innisfail’s last-round loss to Brothers and will need a medical clearance to return.

Whether or not they are availability, Innisfail will likely rely on a pack which others have described as the best in the FNQRL to lay the platform for what the club hopes is a tilt at the decider.

Innisfail’s pack is led by the likes of Cairns Foley Shield representatives Tomasi Skelton and Lata Fakalelu, Souths-bound young gun Jason Hallie, hooker Tamai Huirama steering the ship at dummy-half.

“It would be close,” Turner said. “There’s other clubs who have big forward packs as well.

“There’s a lot of experience in our pack.”

Turner said the A-grade side’s successful season to date was on the back of the club-first mentality which led to several reserve graders getting their opportunity in the top squad this year.

“We’ve had a good system there with having all the local boys coming through,” Turner said. “Ressies made back to back grand finals so it was about giving them the opportunity and they have come through with flying colours, and bought into what we do at the club.

“The boys want to play for each other.”

DUGAN BACKS KNIGHTS

He is the marquee name which raised eyebrows, attracted plenty of attention and made Ivanhoe Knights an immediate FNQRL A-grade title threat on their way to the minor premiership.

But fullback and former Blues and Australia star Josh Dugan insists the job isn’t done just yet.

Ivanhoes clinched the minor premiership after Innisfail’s loss in the final game of the regular season, topping the table by two points with 13 wins from 16 games.

According to Dugan, there’s two more to come before the job is done.

“To win the minor premiership in the 100th year is a good feat but the job’s not done,” Dugan said.

“We’ve got Innisfail then hopefully the GF after that.”

Dugan started the season slowly as he adapted to the conditions, battled niggling injuries and adjusted to life in his first campaign in Queensland, but the class which took him to 215 NRL games across three clubs and 14 years, 12 Origin appearances and 12 games for Australia gave Ivanhoes a distinct edge on the field.

He turned provider on more than one occasion, combining well with Cairns Foley Shield half Rhylee Herd and turning provider for young winger Beau Hodges as the former junior touch rep star proved he belonged in the top grade.

The addition of former Mossman-Port Douglas flyers Matthew and Aggie Gibuma made Ivanhoes an even more potent threat with the ball in hand, as the Knights crossed for 114 tries through the regular campaign.

Now, Ivanhoes is one win away from booking a grand final berth in what would be a fairytale outcome for their milestone 100th year, and Dugan made clear that was the overall goal of the group.

“It’s been good, even better to finish on top,” Dugan said.

“It was pretty tight there for a while. We’ve won our last seven games or something like that, so that was a positive, but we just wanted to focus on what we were doing, and not too much about other teams. Worry about our job, and the rest fell into place.

“Our focus is on Innisfail.

“It’s nice to celebrate this as a club then move on from it.”

Key to the success, Dugan said, was the way the club’s depth has enhanced in recent years to the point coach Lindsay Styles has been able to call upon reserves and under-18s players to plug gaps caused by injuries and unavailability.

“The club’s in a strong position,” he said.

“We brought up a fair few boys from reggies and 18s this year so having that depth as a club is good, it puts us in a good spot for the year.

“It’s been good.

“The whole comp, it’s been real competitive across the board. I feel like the comp is in a good spot.”

MINOR SEMI FINAL

Brothers v Kangaroos, Saturday at 5.30pm

ROOS DUO DESERVE CALL-UP

Kangaroos coach Jared Allen has called for two of his young guns to be brought into state league systems after playing key roles in leading the side to the FNQRL semi-finals.

The Mooroobool club overcame Mossman-Port Douglas 38-22 in an enthralling ­elimination final last week, and have spent this week preparing for one of the biggest rivalry clashes in recent seasons against Brothers.

The clubs have each won 24 premierships, combining for half of the A-grade titles won in this region, but only one club’s dream of winning the race to No. 25 will be alive after they face off at Barlow Park on ­Saturday evening.

Kangaroos duo Joseph Pearson and Tyson Phineasa-Burke have played key roles in the club’s march to the post-season, and Allen believes any future campaign for either gun should come at a higher level.

Pearson scored one of the tries of the season with an outstanding 90m effort which swayed the semi-final win in Kangaroos’ favour last week, beating numerous defenders with his pace and footwork to score a crucial try under the posts as Sharks threatened to mount a comeback.

He is the club’s leading tryscorer this season, who took his 2023 tally to 16 courtesy of a semi-final double. Allen has urged the Northern Pride to ensure he is on their Hostplus Cup books.

“He gets better each week,” Allen said of Pearson.

“He only played one A-grade game last year, this is his first full season.

“We’re happy with the way he’s developing.

“If I was the Pride, I’d be grabbing him now.

“He should be in their top squad going forward. His speed, his defence, he does it all as a winger.”

Phineasa-Burke has been one of the more consistent forwards in the league, let alone at Kangaroos, and his ability to bend and break defensive lines, coupled with his superb offloading skills, has led to many a Kangaroos try in 2023.

Voted Queensland’s best forward in a poll last year, Phineasa-Burke will undergo a tough test when he lines up against Brothers second-rowers Taniela Ta’ufo’ou and Ernest Suavai in Saturday’s sudden death contest.

“I think Tyson has to be on their radar,” Allen said.

“He can do a lot of different positions – front-row, lock, second-row – I’d like him to get something in the Queensland Cup, he’s been unbelievable.

“He’s gone to another level.”

The second week of FNQRL semi-finals will feature six games back-to-back, with a mix of elimination finals and the grand final qualifier in all three grades.

Every minute will be shown live and exclusive by KommunityTV, which you can access from the Cairns Post website.

The U18s minor semi-final is scheduled for an 11am kick-off, which starts more than nine hours of rugby league.

INJURY CLOUDS PLAY-OFF

Brothers will begin their preparation for a second successive elimination final with injury clouds hovering over four players.

The convincing 52-12 win against Mareeba in the first week of the finals came at a cost of which is not yet known - and not yet ruled out.

Isaiah Wigness was on the wrong end of a crusher tackle, though he recovered after a small stoppage to play out the rest of the game and should line up this week.

Captain-coach Jordan Biondi-Odo came off the field early with his side well ahead and the result locked in as he manages an ankle injury, but is expected to play.

Some doubt remains strike around winger Izac Cygler who suffered a quad injury.

There’s hope it was just a bad cork, but if it’s anything worse his position for the clash with Kangaroos on Saturday may be in doubt.

The biggest concern may be on prop George Burgess, who reeled out of a tackle late against Mareeba and went straight to the bench.

There’s concern it might be a wrist injury, though his status remains unclear.

“It didn’t look too good but he’s getting scans, and we’ll see how they look,” Biondi-Odo said.

“Izac, we hope it’s just a cork. Quad injuries can be bad so if it’s more, then we’ll need to look at that too.

“We just have to get the bodies right. We’ve done the hard work, but we just have to keep going.

“We’ll probably have a light week, it’s always a big one against Kangaroos and it’s even bigger being finals.”

Patrick Lewis was also put on report for a high tackle as he stopped a Mareeba attack but Biondi-Odo is confident the five-eighth will be fine to play the minor semi final.

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Kangaroos have their own concerns, with the biggest being prop Aidan Day and his troublesome knee.

The Cairns rugby league rivals have each won 24 A-grade premierships in their history, and will face off in the minor semi final at Barlow Park this Saturday at 5.20pm.

matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au

Originally published as FNQRL finals: Innisfail lock in fourth grand final in six seasons