16 Storm players were involved across Queensland's Intrust Super Cup at the weekend with Easts Tigers and the Sunshine Coast experiencing mixed starts to 2015.
Fast finish not enough for Falcons
A slow start to their season opener at Sunshine Coast Stadium cost the Falcons in their Round 1 meeting with Norths Devils on Saturday night.
Several handling errors put Sunshine Coast on the back foot from kick-off as Norths Devils capitalised on their superior field position, jumping out to a strong lead.
Trailing by 22 points with an hour of football played, the Falcons were sparked into action. Three unanswered tries provided a charge late in the contest but was not enough to bridge the gap.
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Storm outside back Hymel Hunt got on the scoresheet in the second half, crossing the try-line to breach the Devils defence.
The Sunshine Coast Falcons will travel to Cairns next weekend to face last year's Queensland Cup premiers, the Northern Pride.
For a full match report, please visit QRL.com.au.
Norths Devils 24
Tries: Dylan Galloway, Darren Nicholls, Brett Greinke, Byron Creighton
Goals: Darren Nicholls 4
Defeated.
Sunshine Coast Falcons 18
Tries: Sam Wright, Hymel Hunt, Kemu Seru
Goals: Cory McGrady 3
at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Teams:
Sunshine Coast Falcons: 1. Travis Robinson 2. Sam Wright 3. Callum Klein 4. Hymel Hunt 5. Suliasi Vunivalu 20. Ben Hampton 7. Cory McGrady 8. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 9. Slade Griffin 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 11. Kenny Bromwich 19. Jake Samoa 13. Tom Murphy (c) 14. Billy Brittain 18. Kemu Seru 16. Johnny Vuetibau 15. Jordan Ryan
Norths Devils: 1. Luke Pollock 2. Michael Lucas 3. Dylan Galloway 4. Steve Elliott 5. Kainga Turner 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Darren Nicholls (c) 8. Mark Vaiao 9. Krys Freeman 10. Jarrod Wallace 11. Brett Greinke 12. Todd Lowrie 13. Byron Creighton 15. Richard Tuala 16. Chris Faust 17. Billy Solah 20. Josh Afoa
Tigers overcome Pride in opener
In a tough contest befitting a Grand Final replay, Easts Tigers overcame a tough Northern Pride outfit on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers helped themselves to a narrow half-time lead with the Storm listed pairing of Mahe Fonua and Shaun Nona having a big influence. Fonua opened Easts' try-scoring account for 2015 before Nona's vision paved the way for the Tigers second of the afternoon.
Fullback Cameron Munster's intuitive build up play on two separate occasions after half-time helped extend Easts lead in the second stanza. From there the hosts didn't look back, working into a commanding position to claim a 20-12 victory.
Easts Tigers will face off against Wynnum Manly in Round 2 at BMD Kougari Oval.
For a full match report, please visit QRL.com.au.
Easts Tigers 20
Tries: Donald Malone, Shane Neumann, Mahe Fonua, Tommy Butterfield
Goals: Shaun Nona 2
Defeated.
Northern Pride 12
Tries: Ben Spina, Patrick Kaufusi
Goals: Jordan Biondi-Ono 2
at Tapout Energy Stadium (Langlands Park).
Teams:
Easts Tigers: 1. Cameron Munster 2. Donald Malone 3. Shane Neumann 4. Mahe Fonua 5. Richie Kennar 6. Shaun Nona 7. Joel Romelo 8. Matthew Zgrajewski 9. Tommy Butterfield 10. Christian Welch 11. Dane Hogan (c) 12. Jake Foster 13. Troy Giess 14. Liam McDonald 15. Francis Tualau 16. Foisa Peni 18. Dean Britt
Northern Pride: 1. Lachlan Coote 2. Linc Port 3. Semi Tadulala 4. Hezron Murgha 5. Javid Bowen 6. Jordan Biondi-Odo 7. Sam Obst 8. Jack Svendsen 9. Jason Roos (c) 10. Ben Spina 11. Vaipuna Tia Kilifi 12. Graham Clark 13. Tom Hancock 14. Cameron King 15. Ryan Ghietti 16. Sheldon Powe-Hobbs 17. Patrick Kaufusi
