Cup final closes in
THE Northern Pride are one win away from a Queensland Cup grand final berth in their first season in the competition.
The Pride turned a frustrating month of poor form on its head yesterday, beating Souths Logan 40-16 in the qualifying final to set up a clash with minor premier Ipswich on Saturday.
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Despite losing their final four fixtures of the home-and-away season, the Pride entered yesterday’s match full of confidence having beaten the Magpies twice already this season.
Their belief seemed justified when they jumped out to a 14-0 lead but the Magpies hit back and after the Pride dropped the ball over the line before halftime, and had a try disallowed just after it, Souths Logan struck.
They scored twice more to take a 16-14 lead over the Pride early in the second term.
"It would have been very easy (to drop our heads)," coach Andrew Dunemann said of his players.
"But we haven’t done that all year and we weren’t going to do that (yesterday)."
Northern weathered the storm and fought back to dominate the final 20 minutes, scoring 26 unanswered points to seal the win.
Dunemann said he was particularly proud of his team and felt they well and truly lived up to their moniker yesterday, showing great pride in their performance.
"We’re a team that represent the region," he said of his mostly local players who have jelled well as a unit in their first year, in part because of their ties to the Far North.
"People watching can be proud of them and they truly lived up to the name of the team yesterday."
The news was not all good for the Pride though, with captain Chris Sheppard leaving Davies Park on crutches after injuring his foot early in the game.
He played on before leaving the field once victory was sealed and is confident of lining up this week.
Like Dunemann, Sheppard was proud of his players.
"The boys just dug in," he said of the tight-knit group.
The Pride expected a forward battle from the Magpies but met it with resistance, with Scott Bolton and Mark Cantoni in particular outstanding.
Dunemann said the pair was "head and shoulders" above their teammates yesterday, with North Queensland Cowboy Bolton a shining light.
The Innisfail product is based in Townsville as a member of the Cowboys’ NRL squad and usually has just one training session with the Pride if he is named to play in the Queensland Cup at the weekend.
He arrived earlier than usual last week though and "came out of his shell" in the three sessions ahead of the final, something that translated to his game.
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Forward muscle: Northern Pride forward Mark Cantoni continues his strong return from a broken arm. Pictures: SMP IMAGES/WARREN KEIR
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