By Chris W.B

Gold Coast, played for their future in the 2002 Finals Campaign, met up with the side they knocked out of last year’s finals race- Brisbane, in what would prove to be a thrilling sudden death match- the winner to face the winner of the Manly vs. North Sydney grudge conflict.

Gold Coast welcomed back Kiwi sensation Iafeta Pelea’easina for the match, whilst a number of the Bulls carried niggling injuries from their finals campaign. With Gold Coast losing in extra time to North Sydney last week, and Brisbane on a two game losing streak in the finals- both sides were desperate for a win to keep themselves alive.

The opening ten minutes were tentative from both sides, neither pushing their attack nor being too aggressive in defence. A John Eeles penalty in the 10th had Gold Coast ahead 2-0.

The goal seemed to spark both sides, with Brisbane putting together some promising sets on the back of some good work from John Hopoate and Matthew Burke- a pairing which has reeked havoc on more fancied lineups all year. However, it was some poor marker defence from Tommy O’Reilly which allowed the Bulls their first try, Kevin Sinfield burrowing over from five out to put his side up 4-2. Burke narrowly missed the sideline conversion.

From the kick-off, John Hopoate made a big bust down the sideline, throwing Irish winger Tommy O’Reilly aside and racing eighty metres before being dragged down by a desperation Radlinski tackle. In a debateable decision, Hopoate was then penalised for passing off the ground, when it looked as if his ball had sailed legally into the hands of Allan Langer. The try was disallowed, and after a few safe sets, Gold Coast were awarded another penalty for offside Bulls defence. Eeles made no mistake, and it was locked at 4 all.

Gold Coast then started to push passes, looking to return to the form that scored them a minor premiership, but continually made sloppy errors. Andrew Johns and Nathan Cayless, usually safe with the ball, both knocked on in a short period of five minutes, and Brisbane looked to have some ascendency.

As Shannon Hegarty made a sideline dash however, he was collected in a powerful Perry tackle and tossed into touch. The resulting set of six saw Danny Buderus put through a gaping hole by Andrew Johns. Burke came in for the tackle, collecting Buderus high, the tackle, whilst not malicious, was enough for the ref to award a penalty which put Gold Coast ahead 6-4.

The weight of possession started to tell, as Gold Coast made inroads and Brisbane made mistakes when they had the ball. A series of knock-ons and poor last tackle options, uncharacteristic for the Bulls, lead to Tommy O’Reilly dancing his way in under the posts, with Eeles converting to put Gold Coast up 12-4 in the 38th. From the kick-off, Gold Coast received a penalty which put them deep on the attack, but some stalwart defence from Brisbane kept Gold Coast out, and at halftime it was 12-4.
Brisbane came out fired up in the second half, perhaps too fired up, with their tackling aggressive and their ten poorly kept. A bevy of penalties gave Gold Coast excellent field position, and bench winger Waisale Sovtabua had little trouble streaking down the sideline to score in the corner. Eeles nailed the difficult conversion, and Gold Coast lead 18-4 after fifty minutes.

The Bulls couldn’t get a break, squandering what little ball they had, and making it increasingly hard to defence their own line. One clear cut example saw John Hopoate bring it out from his in-goal, only to have Matthew Burke knock it on from dummy half, giving Gold Coast possession again. From the scrum, Johns isolated Hegarty, and Chris McKenna capitalised on a good Carney pass to score untouched. Eeles hit the conversion, and at 24-4, Brisbane needed a miracle.

Despite keeping Gold Coast out, the Bulls couldn’t string a set together, continually blowing opportunities with poor handling or as a result of tough Gold Coast defence. The miracle never came, with the Crusade looking convincing as they raced in another try on the siren. The ref, maybe feeling a little mercy was in order, called the try back for a shepherding charge, and the score remained at 24-4 as the siren went. An elated crowd rose as one, but the Gold Coast side still need some fine tuning if they are to face Manly or North Sydney.

GOLD COAST: 24
Tommy O’Reilly
Chris McKenna
Waisale Sovatabua
Eeles 6/6
Def.
BRISBANE BULLS: 4
Kevin Sinfield
Burke 0/1
PoM Points:
Waisale Sovatabua 3
Chris McKenna 2
Tommy O’Reilly 1