QCup Rd 10 Norths 26 Pride 14

by NRL

Three tries in six minutes helped the Norths Devils clinch their round 10 fixture against the Northern Pride at Bishop Park yesterday.

Fullback Daniel Ogden starred for the home side, scoring two of the Devils five tries in the crucial 26-14 victory.

The Pride travelled to Brisbane for the game with heavy hearts, with popular squad member Francis Mosby losing his life in a car accident on Friday.

Still devastated by the tragedy, the Pride did their best to focus on the task at hand and opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the game, when former Queensland Origin and Cowboys star Ty Williams provided a great ball to Ethan Lowe, who strolled through untouched, while Blake Leary added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

The game then became an end-to-end affair, as the Pride dominated possession but couldn't convert their opportunities to points.

Norths finally struck back in the 38th minute, when Namila Davui beat his opposite number to score.

Mitchell Frei missed the conversion, with the Pride going into halftime with a 6-4 lead.

The second half was a completely different affair, with Norths getting on the board in the 44th minute of the game, when Matt Smith got the ball to Joel Bailey, who drew two defenders to put Sione Lolohea through a gap to score.

A 40m break by Brett Anderson from a scrum 10m out from his own line set up the Pride's next scoring run.

Two plays later, they attacked the short side, going through the hands to send Scott Gibson away to put the Pride into a 10-8 lead in the 50th minute.

From the 55th minute, Norths put the match beyond doubt by scoring three tries in a devastating six minute burst.

Jarrod Wallace proved unstoppable from short range, crossing next to the uprights. Less than two minutes later, Mark Vaiao took off down the sideline, before finding an unmarked and flying Ogden who went the rest of the way to score.

From the restart, Chris McLean broke the line, before sending Sione Lolohea on a 60m charge. A few plays later, Ogden grabbed his second as he got on the outside of the defence and strolled over to extend Norths lead to 24-10.

With only seven minutes remaining, Cowboys contracted forward Cory Paterson was penalised for a high tackle, awarding Norths penalty just 15m out. Bailey added the two points, extending the lead to 26-10.

The Pride grabbed a consolation try as the final siren sounded, centre Rod Jensen plucking an intercept and racing 50m to score for the visitors.

Next Saturday, Norths Devils travel to Ipswich in what should be a close game at North Ipswich Reserve, while the Northern Pride host the Redcliffe Dolphins.

NORTHS DEVILS 26 (Daniel Ogden 2, Sione Lolohea, Namila Davui, Jarrod Wallace tries; Mitchell Frei 2, Joel Bailey goals) def NORTHERN PRIDE 14 (Rod Jensen, Scott Gibson, Ethan Lowe tries; Blake Leary goal) at Bishop Park.

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