International Results : 2017 July - Sept

Here is a list of games and brief comments for internationals in the third quarter of the year.

July, played in Budapest, Hungary and Jacksonville, USA:

Hungary 56-4 Poland.
Czech Republic 26-6 Hungary.
USA 48-6 Jamaica.

Summary: I believe the first two games were part of a series which I will call Central Europe Tri-Series. I don't have a date for the third match, if indeed it goes ahead but at this point the Czech Republic look to be the winner, with Hungary second and Poland third. That would reflect my understanding of each nation's length of time in the game.

The USA - Jamaica match is the first in the America's Championship. It very much went the way of the hosts as was expected, but well done Jamaica for a gallant effort.

August, played in Kalundborg, Denmark. Kingston, Jamaica. and Osnabrück, Germany:

Norway 40-24 Denmark.
Jamaica 28-14 Canada.
The Netherlands 30-18 Germany.

Summary: The first game listed above was part of the Nordic Cup Tri-Series, the second to be played in the series. This result gave the series to Norway, with second and third place determined next month.

The second game in the America's Championship was played in Jamaica, the first RL test ever played in that country. It went to the home side so for Canada to take the title it will have to defeat the USA by a large margin.

The Netherlands defeated Germany for the first time ever and in Germany too, in a friendly match. The Netherlands is wanting to lift its standards in RL and hopefully this will spur Germany on keep on progressing.

September, played in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Vancouver & Toronto, Canada:

The Netherlands 28-24 Sweden.
Fiji 22-6 Canada.
USA 36-18 Canada.

Summary: In a friendly game - not part of a tournament - The Netherlands showed their improvement with a victory over Sweden, a more experienced nation in RL.

Then Fiji brought domestic only players to take on Canada and won quite comfortably. Better goal kicking would have separated the scores even more. The game is progressing well in Fiji and Canada needs to expand its participation numbers.

The USA were too strong as you would expect with a more developed domestic competition. Still, it wasn't a given and going up to Canada meant home town advantage for the Wolverines.

Also September, played in Sydney, Australia:

El Salvador 48-10 Uruguay.
Chile 20-20 Thailand.

Summary: I'm not sure what international status these games had but at least they were between nations.

El Salvador won its first RL international with a convincing victory over Uruguay. Apparently they prepared well and despite only having two interchange players, did themselves proud.

Chile took a convincing early lead against the Thai side but were caught in the latter stage of the game.

Picture source: Rugby League Planet.

Queensland State League (Upper Half) : 2017

The lower half has been briefly dissected so now we look at the more successful teams in the league. Points allocated and a chart at the bottom to put it into a concise format.

7th & 10pts. Ipswich Jets. South West of Brisbane, it was there when the competition commenced in 1996. 8th is good but one place out of the finals. It was 9th in 2016.

6th & 15pts. Townsville Blackhawks. It is a sizable town on the northern coastline of the state. A team played in this competition for 1998, then again from the 2002 season to 2007 when it folded. This latest iteration took to the field only recently in 2015. It bowed out in the first round of the finals matches. In the previous season they came third.

5th & 16pts. Souths Logan Magpies (Souths). In the southern area of Brisbane, the current team came from a takeover of the Logan club by the Souths club in the city. They had both started in the league in 1996 when it started. It also fell at the first hurdle in the finals. It's league finish was two places up on 2016.

4th & 24pts. Eastern Suburbs Tigers (Easts). Another Brisbane based side, they were in the league from its inception. The team came third during the season but was knocked out in the second found of finals matches. Easts finished 6th in 2016.

2nd equal & 30pts. Sunshine Coast Falcons. Based just north of Brisbane, the club recently was in sore straights but has been pulled around and is now flourishing. 3rd in the league and losing finalist in the last minute of the game, it was some effort by those who are steering the club. 5th in 2016 and missing the final by one match.

2nd equal & 30pts. Redcliffe Dolphins. The club is located north and east of the centre of Brisbane on a peninsula. It has been part of the state league from year one and is its most successful participant. This year it came second in the league and missed the final by one match. In 2016, it won the league and was a losing grand finalist.

1st & 40pts. PNG Hunters. It only came into being in 2014 but the team has improved quickly. There was a team in Port Moresby for the 1996 and 1997 seasons but not as successful. In 2017 they won the league and grand final, better than last years 4th and first round finals exit. The Papua New Guinea club has made quite an impact on the competition in four short years.

	Rk	Team	Lge	Fnl	Tot
	1	PNG Hunters	20	20	40
	2	Redcliffe Dolphins	18	12	30
	2	Sunshine Coast	14	16	30
	4	Easts Tigers	16	8	24
	5	Souths Logan	12	4	16
	6	Townsville	11	4	15
	7	Ipswich Jets	10		10
	8	Mackay Cutters	9		9
	9	Burleigh Bears	8		8
	10	Wynnum Manly	7		7
	11	Norths Devils	6		6
	12	Northern Pride	5		5
	13	Tweed Heads	4		4
	14	Central Queensland	3		3

Queensland State League (Lower Half) : 2017

Below the professional NRL, there are leagues that operate across Australasia and the second tier in Queensland is played across the state. This is a big region, two and a half times the size of Texas. It is also quite long so the logistics of running this league must involve quite some funding. There is also a team from Papua New Guinea adding to that.

So how did the 2017 season pan out? I've done my usual trick in assigning points to access how the 14 teams have done. For now we look at the bottom half.

14th & 3pts. Central Queensland Capras. Based in Rockhampton, they have been in the competition since its inception in 1996 but for this year came last, two places down on 2016.

13th & 4pts. Tweed Heads Seagulls. The team is in NSW, on the border with Queensland. It joined in 2003 but only managed second to last in 2017, the second year in that position.

12th & 5pts. Northern Pride. Cairns is the location of this team and it was founded in 2008. It's had some good years but the fell from 8th to 12th on last' year's effort so won't be remembered as one of them. Another representative team from the town called the Cyclones ran or the 1996 to 2000 seasons.

11th & 6pts. Northern Suburbs Devils (Norths). Based in the northern part of Brisbane, it was a founding club for the pan Queensland competition in 1996. This club has a proud history but has now finished 11th for two consecutive years.

10th & 7pts. Wynnum-Manly Seagulls. Another long standing Brisbane club, this one based in the east of the city. it also joined from the beginning of the state league but a second year of 7th is the best it can do presently.

9th & 8pts. Burleigh Heads Bears. Situated on the Gold Coast, the team came into this competition one year after its inception. It was the most successful team in 2016, but couldn't replicate that in 2017.

8th & 9pts. McKay Cutters. Unsurprisingly from McKay, which is about half way up the east coast of the state. Last in 2016, this year was an improvement. They joined in 2008.

Picture source: McKay Cutters.