The Blues have secured second place on the ladder after a thrilling weekend of action in the penultimate round of the Austbrokers Canberra Raiders Cup.
Queanbeyan Blues 32 defeated West Belconnen Warriors 22
The Blues will face the Kangaroos in the major semi-final in two weeks after defeating the Warriors 32-22 on Saturday.
The Blues dominated for most of the match, with Tyler Stevens and Jarrod Lenihan both grabbing braces.
Blues coach Simon Woolford was thrilled with the performance.
"I'm pretty happy. We had a real defensive focus. We were poor against Woden [two weeks ago] defensively so we really had to focus on that," Woolford said.
"They scored a couple late tries, which is pretty disappointing, but when we put in the effort we did for 70 minutes of the game, you can't be too critical."
The Warriors will now play the Bulls in the minor semi-final in two weeks time. Coach Troy Thompson lamented the team's execution which cost them.
"We've been pretty scratchy with our attack. Our effort in defence is pretty good, but we are probably doing too much of it," Thompson said.
"We haven't played a real good 80 minutes of football. I think if we can get that in our game and play 80 minutes of solid footy, we'll go pretty close to competing with the top two sides in the Blues and Roos," he said."
Yass Magpies 22 defeated Gungahlin Bulls 16
In the upset of the round, the Magpies defeated the Bulls 22-16 to deal a major blow to the Bulls momentum heading into the finals.
The Bull can't drop below fourth place, but will be searching for answers after the six-point defeat.
The Magpies will look to cause further disruption to the top of the table when they take on the Warriors next weekend, while the Bulls will come up against the rampaging Kangaroos.
Queanbeyan Kangaroos 59 defeated Woden Valley Rams 0
There has been no stopping the Kangaroos in recent weeks, and Saturday no different when the ladder-leaders dropped 59 points on the Rams.
Sekope Meke bagged a hat-trick for the Kangaroos as they ran in 11 tries in an emphatic performance.
The Kangaroos will now have one eye on the match-up against the Blues in the major semi-final in two weeks, in what is shaping up to be another epic Queanbeyan derby.
Belconnen Sharks 30 defeated Goulburn 16
A double to Andrew Pelasio propelled the Sharks to a 30-16 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Unless the Sharks can upset the Bushrangers next weekend, they will collect the wooden spoon. The Bulldogs will have a chance at one last upset for the season, when they go up against the Blues on Saturday.
POS | TEAM | P | W | L | D | B | F | A | PD | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Queanbeyan Kangaroos Firsts | 17 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 602 | 252 | 350 | 32 |
2 | Queanbeyan United Firsts | 17 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 464 | 234 | 230 | 29 |
3 | West Belconnen Firsts | 17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 451 | 328 | 123 | 26 |
4 | Gungahlin Bulls Firsts | 17 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 432 | 344 | 88 | 23 |
5 | Woden Valley Rams Firsts | 17 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 402 | 408 | -6 | 18 |
6 | Tuggeranong Bushrangers Firsts | 17 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 340 | 416 | -76 | 14 |
7 | Yass Magpies Firsts | 17 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 210 | 542 | -332 | 12 |
8 | Goulburn Workers Bulldogs Firsts | 17 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 262 | 395 | -133 | 8 |
9 | Belconnen United Sharks Firsts | 17 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 300 | 544 | -244 | 8 |