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The Intrust Super Cup is the highest level of competition in rugby league football in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the QRL or the Queensland Rugby Football League and sponsored by Intrust Super. The tournament replaced the Winfield State League in 1996 and was accompanied by the Brisbane Rugby League before it became the premier competition after the latter disbanded in 1998.
The competition is made up of 14 teams, with 12 teams based in Queensland, one in New South Wales and another from Papua New Guinea. The league operates on a single group system with no divisions,groups or conferences and no relegations to other leagues. The regular season consists of 23 rounds played in 24 weeks ( each team has one bye week ) beginning from March and ending in August. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams compete in the finals series. The series is composed of a series of games between the top eight teams to be held in the month of September. At the end of the series, only two teams will remain and they will play in the Queensland Cup Grand Final to determine who are the season’s premiers. The Final will be played at the Suncorp Stadium on a Sunday afternoon.
The 2019 Intrust Super Cup is the 24th edition of the Queensland Cup and the regular season began last March 9, 2019 and finished last August 31, 2019. At the end of the regular season, these are the Top 8 teams in ladder:
- Sunshine Coast Falcons 43 points
- Wynnum Manly Seagulls 36
- Burleigh Bears 34
- Townsville Blackhawks 34
- Norths Devils 30
- Tweed Heads Seagulls 28
- Redcliffe Dolphins 26
- Easts Tigers 21
In the opening round of the finals series, The Tweed Seagulls and the Norths Devils have been eliminated from the competition in a surprising opening which saw all four away teams winning their respective assignments.
Redcliffe scored on a late 79th minute field goal to beat Tweed 25-24 while Easts came from behind to defeat the Norths 24-20. The Burleigh Bears also beat the Wynnum Manly Seagulls 34-32 in front of the Seagulls’ crowd while the Townsville Blackhawks upset the minor premiers Sunshine Coast Falcons 20-12. With the win Burleigh and Townsville advance to the preliminary finals while Sunshine Coast and Wynnum Manly try to advance and stave off elimination when they play Easts and Redcliffe, respectively.
Here are the odds to win the 2019 Intrust Super Cup. Odds were taken from 888sport.com as of 9/11/19:
- Sunshine Coast Falcons +150
- Burleigh Bears +250
- Townsville Blackhawks +333
- Wynnum Manly Seagulls +650
- Redcliffe Dolphins +1200
- Easts Tigers +4000
Who are the Favorites?
The Sunshine Coast Falcons are the rugby betting favorites to win the tournament. They are affiliated with the Melbourne Storm and competed in the first season of the Queensland Cup in 1996 but dropped out from the competition the following year. They returned in 2009 and have played here since then. This season, the Falcons finished on top of the ladder and were named as this season’s minor premiers. However, the Falcons were upset 12-20 by the Townsville Blackhawks in round one of the Intrust Super Cup finals series.
The Falcons drew with the Ipswich Jets in the final round of the Intrust Super Cup regular season and then welcomed back their stars in the finals series with Harry Grant, Todd Murphy, Tino Faasuamaleaui and Chris Lewis all taking to the field against the Blackhawks. However, the team played without the trio of Nicho Hynes, Joe Stimson, and Jon Reuben. The personnel changes took its toll on the Falcons as they were never able to find their rhythm in attack and defense throughout the entire match. With the defeat, the Falcons will play the Easts Tigers next week in a win-or-go home match.
The Burleigh Bears were founded in 1934 and were admitted to the Queensland Cup in 1997. They have made three appearances in the Grand Final, winning in all three instances. They also won the minor premiership in 2003 and 2004. The Bears defeated the second placed Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the first round of the finals series to advance to the next round.
The Townsville Blackhawks defeated the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in their matchup last week. The Blackhawks were founded in 1931 and since 1996, they have competed in the Queensland Cup. This club has won a total of six Premierships, the last of which came in 2012. They also have three minor premierships and one runner-up finish.
The Wynnum Manly Seagulls were founded in 1931 and competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1951-1997. Since 1996, the team has competed in the Queensland Cup and they were the premiers in back to back seasons from 2011 to 2012. They finished 2nd in the final teams standings, their best finish since the 2014 season. Like the Sunshine Coast Falcons, the Seagulls lost on the first week of the finals series. The team fell 6-22 behind early against a fast-starting Burleigh Bears before mounting a comeback that fell short. The Bears ended up with a pulsating 34-32 win. While the Bears will advance to a home preliminary finals match in two weeks time, the Seagulls will host Redcliffe in what looks to be a blockbuster elimination match.
Who Wins?
Sunshine Coast took a fall against Townsville last week but remember that they finished the regular season seven points clear of their closest rivals. They scored at least 100 points more than every other team in the competition and also allowed the fewest points among the 14 teams in the league. I think the Falcons are going to bounce back from that defeat and go on to win the title. They have played too good this season not to win it all. Prediction: Sunshine Coast Falcons
