Redcliffe stay in finals contention with strong victory over Townsville
The Redcliffe Dolphins have delivered a stunning victory in the race to the finals, making a statement against the third-placed Townsville Blackhawks in the penultimate round of the season.
Back at home, the Dolphins bagged the two points after briefly falling out of the top eight over the weekend, claiming a much-needed 36-10 win at Kayo Stadium.
Following back-to-back losses to the Burleigh Bears and Sunshine Coast Falcons, Redcliffe went into Round 22 desperate to keep their finals hopes alive.
With the injection of Joshua James back in the No.7 jersey – after two weeks out with appendicitis – the Dolphins were electric, running in seven tries to two.
Centre Will Partridge was a standout, claiming a hat-trick in the space of 23 minutes.
He said after the game his teammates made it “easy” for him and the whole team effort was crucial to get the win on Sunday.
“We’ve lost a little bit of form the last few weeks,” Partridge told Qplus.tv.
“But the boys and all the coaching staff and the club stayed very positive. We know we’ve got the team to put it to these stronger sides.
“We just stayed positive at training and worked really hard and showed belief and we came out here today and gave them a bit of a shock.
“Real proud of the boys for turning up in a big game like this.”
Partridge opened the scoring in the 7th minute, scoring his three tries in quick succession.
Townsville managed to snatch their own four-pointer in this time, through Eddie Hampson in the 21st.
But after Partridge’s third try of the afternoon, it was clear the Dolphins were going to be relentless in their bid to return to the winner’s circle.
While Partridge was denied a fourth, forward Lopeti Mafi barged over the line in the 34th minute to take his side into the halftime break up 22-6.
In the second stanza, it took fullback Zac Miles – in thrilling form – just six minutes to extend that lead before Partridge put backrower Tom Opacic over in the 50th minute.
The Dolphins’ final try came through winger Nat McGavin, with a sneaky pick up off a Townsville error.
Blackhawks had one consolation try in the second half to Tyrone Gunn-James.
It was a strong win from the Dolphins.
With a number of players still sidelined, including co-captain Max Bailey (calf) and backrower Jaron Purcell (hamstring), they also copped a blow with co-captain and hooker Kyle Schneider a late scratching due to illness.
But the 17 that took the park responded without hesitation, with Redcliffe now back in the top eight and on track to play finals footy.
The Dolphins will play their final regular round match against the Mackay Cutters next Saturday at Kayo Stadium.