# 2015 Queensland Cup

The 2015 Queensland Cup season was the 20th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 29-week long season (including finals) from March to September.
The Ipswich Jets won their first premiership after defeating the Townsville Blackhawks 32–20 in the Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium. Wynnum Manly Seagulls' five-eighth Patrick Templeman was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Courier Mail Medal.

## Teams

In 2015, the competition expanded to the 14 teams with the inclusion of the Townsville Blackhawks. Townsville had previously been represented in the competition by the North Queensland Young Guns and Townsville Stingers.
The Canberra Raiders ended their affiliation with the Souths Logan Magpies, who partnered with the Brisbane Broncos. After four seasons without an NRL affiliate, the Sunshine Coast Falcons formed a partnership with the Melbourne Storm.
| Club | Home ground(s) | Head coach(s) | Captain(s) | NRL Affiliate |
| Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | Jim Lenihan | Darren Griffiths | Gold Coast Titans |
| Central Queensland Capras | Browne Park | Jason Hetherington → Lionel Harbin | Guy Williams | Brisbane Broncos |
| Easts Tigers | Langlands Park | Craig Ingebrigtsen | Dane Hogan | Melbourne Storm |
| Ipswich Jets | North Ipswich Reserve | Ben Walker & Shane Walker | Keiron Lander | Brisbane Broncos |
| Mackay Cutters | Stadium Mackay | Kim Williams | Chris Gesch | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Northern Pride | Barlow Park | Joe O'Callaghan | Brett Anderson & Jason Roos | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Norths Devils | Bishop Park | Mark Gliddon | Brett Greinke | Brisbane Broncos |
| Papua New Guinea Hunters | Kalabond Oval | Michael Marum | Israel Eliab | None |
| Redcliffe Dolphins | Dolphin Oval | Troy Lindsay | Luke Capewell | Brisbane Broncos |
| Souths Logan Magpies | Davies Park | Josh Hannay | Phil Dennis | Brisbane Broncos |
| Sunshine Coast Falcons | Sunshine Coast Stadium | Glen Dreger | Tom Murphy | Melbourne Storm |
| Townsville Blackhawks | Jack Manski Oval | Kristian Woolf | Dan Beasley | North Queensland Cowboys |
| Tweed Heads Seagulls | Piggabeen Sports Complex | Aaron Zimmerle | James Wood | Gold Coast Titans |
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | BMD Kougari Oval | Jon Buchanan | Tim Natusch | Brisbane Broncos |

## Ladder

2015 Queensland Cup :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Townsville Blackhawks | 23 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 870 | 507 | +507 | 43 |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea Hunters | 23 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 718 | 487 | +231 | 42 |
| 3 | Ipswich Jets (P) | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 700 | 502 | +198 | 36 |
| 4 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 623 | 440 | +183 | 36 |
| 5 | Easts Tigers | 23 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 623 | 428 | +204 | 32 |
| 6 | Northern Pride | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 523 | 447 | +76 | 32 |
| 7 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 671 | 574 | +97 | 25 |
| 8 | Mackay Cutters | 23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 547 | 497 | +50 | 25 |
| 9 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | 23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 510 | 585 | -75 | 24 |
| 10 | Burleigh Bears | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 401 | 674 | -273 | 23 |
| 11 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 23 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 452 | 599 | -147 | 19 |
| 12 | Souths Logan Magpies | 23 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 506 | 664 | -158 | 19 |
| 13 | Norths Devils | 23 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 420 | 727 | -307 | 16 |
| 14 | Central Queensland Capras | 23 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 330 | 882 | -552 | 6 |

## Final series

The Queensland Cup reverted to a six-team finals format in 2015.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time (Local) | Venue |
| Elimination Finals |||||
| Ipswich Jets | 54 – 26 | Northern Pride | 6 September 2015, 1:40 pm | North Ipswich Reserve |
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 24 – 32 | Easts Tigers | 6 September 2015, 3:00 pm | BMD Kougari Oval |
| Major / Minor Semi-final |||||
| Townsville Blackhawks | 26 – 12 | PNG Hunters | 12 September 2015, 5:00 pm | Jack Manski Oval |
| Ipswich Jets | 44 – 18 | Easts Tigers | 13 September 2015, 1:35 pm | North Ipswich Reserve |
| Preliminary Final |||||
| PNG Hunters | 12 – 28 | Ipswich Jets | 20 September 2015, 3:00 pm | BMD Kougari Oval |
| Grand Final |||||
| Townsville Blackhawks | 20 – 32 | Ipswich Jets | 27 September 2015, 3:55 pm | Suncorp Stadium |
| Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Elimination Finals | Major / Minor Semi-finals | Major / Minor Semi-finals | Major / Minor Semi-finals | Preliminary Final | Preliminary Final | Preliminary Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | 1 | Townsville | 26 | | | | 1 | Townsville | 20 |
| | | | 2 | PNG Hunters | 12 | | | | 3 | Ipswich | 32 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 54 | | | | 2 | PNG Hunters | 12 | | | |
| 6 | Northern Pride | 26 | | | | 3 | Ipswich | 28 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Ipswich | 44 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Easts | 18 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wynnum Manly | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Easts | 32 | | | | | | | | | |

## Grand Final

* Sunday, 27 September 3:55pm (AEST)
| Townsville Blackhawks | 20 – 32 | Ipswich Jets |
| Tries: Jahrome Hughes 1 Tom Humble 1 Robert Lui 1 Zac Santo 1 Goals: Robert Lui 2 | 1st: 8 - 16 2nd: 12 - 16 Report | Tries: 1 Carlin Anderson 1 Marmin Barba 1 Keiron Lander 1 Matt Parcell 1 Dane Phillips 1 Nemani Valekapa Goals: 2 Carlin Anderson 1 Marmin Barba 1 Keiron Lander |
* Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 8,086 Referee: Clayton Sharpe Player of the Match: Billy McConnachie (Ipswich)
| Townsville Blackhawks | Position | Ipswich Jets |
| Jahrome Hughes | FB | Carlin Anderson |
| 2. Zac Santo | WG | 2. Marmin Barba |
| 3. Tom Humble | CE | 3. Liam Capewell |
| 4. Mosese Pangai | CE | 4. Nemani Valekapa |
| 5. Samsen O'Neill | WG | 5. Richard Pandia |
| 6. Robert Lui | FE | 6. Josh Cleeland |
| 7. Michael Parker-Walshe | HB | 7. Dane Phillips |
| 8. Glenn Hall | PR | 15. Kurtis Lingwoodock |
| 9. Anthony Mitchell | HK | 9. Matt Parcell |
| 10. Dan Beasley (c) | PR | 10. Rod Griffin |
| 11. Rhyse Martin | SR | 16. Billy McConnachie |
| 12. Kelepi Tanginoa | SR | 12. Kurt Capewell |
| 13. Neville Costigan | LK | 13. Keiron Lander (c) |
| 15. Lorenzo Ma'afu | Bench | 8. Josh Seage |
| 16. Chris McLean | Bench | 11. Sam Martin |
| 18. Rhys Matsen | Bench | 14. Landon Hayes |
| 19. Ricky Thorby | Bench | 22. Fakahoko Teutau |
| Kristian Woolf | Coach | Ben & Shane Walker |
Townsville took out the minor premiership in their debut season, losing just three games (one of those to Ipswich). They qualified for their first Grand Final after defeating the PNG Hunters 26–12 in the major semi final. Ipswich, who finished the regular season in 3rd, defeated the Northern Pride 54–26 in the first elimination final. In the minor semi final, they defeated Easts and then upset the Hunters a week later to qualify for their third Grand Final.

### First half

Townsville got off to a great start, scoring in the 2nd minute of the game through centre Tom Humble. Ipswich scored their first try in the 19th minute in spectacular fashion, when winger Marmin Barba ran 70 metres before finding his halfback Dane Phillips who scored. The Jets grabbed their second just minutes later when Townsville fullback Jahrome Hughes threw a wayward pass as he was being dragged over the sideline, that was dived on by Barba in the in-goal. Townsville hit back in the 29th minute when winger Zac Santo scored in the right corner. With a minute remaining in the half, Jets' fullback Carlin Anderson sliced through the Blackhawks defence off a scrum to give his side a 10-point lead.

### Second half

It took just a minute before the Jets had their fourth try of the game, when captain Keiron Lander latched onto a Phillips grubber. Three minutes later they recorded their fifth try when centre Nemani Valekapa scored in the corner. The Blackhawks finally stemmed the flow of points in the 50th minute when Hughes crossed the try line. An Ipswich penalty goal from right in front extended their lead to 12 with 20 minutes to play. Townsville gave themselves a chance late when Robert Lui grubbered for himself to score in the 73rd minute to see his side trail by just six. A tense final seven minutes followed but Ipswich held on and sealed the win with an 80th minute try to hooker Matt Parcell.
The premiership was the first ever for the Jets, who had gone 30 seasons without success dating back to the Brisbane Rugby League competition. Ipswich second-rower Billy McConnachie was awarded the Duncan Hall Medal for the man of the match.

### NRL State Championship

After winning the Grand Final, the Ipswich Jets qualified for the NRL State Championship on NRL Grand Final day. They defeated the Newcastle Knights, the New South Wales Cup premiers, 26–12.
* Sunday, 4 October 3:40pm (AEDT)
| Newcastle Knights 2015 NSW Cup Premiers | 12–26 | Ipswich Jets 2015 QLD Cup Premiers |
| Tries: G Ndaira (28') J Feeney(42') Goals: G Ndaira 2/2 | Report | Tries: M Parcell (1') B McConnachie (10') M Barba (37') R Griffin(63') Goals: C Anderson 5/5 |
* ANZ Stadium, Sydney Referee: Matt Noyen

## Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of the season (including finals).

## QRL Awards

* Courier Mail Medal (Best and Fairest): Patrick Templeman ( Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
* Coach of the Year: Michael Marum ( PNG Hunters)
* Rookie of the Year: Aaron Rockley ( Wynnum Manly Seagulls)
* Representative Player of the Year: Shaun Nona ( Queensland Residents, Easts Tigers)
* XXXX People's Choice Awards: Wartovo Puara ( PNG Hunters)

### Team of the Year

| Position | Winner | Club |
| Fullback | Jahrome Hughes | Townsville Blackhawks |
| Wing | Marmin Barba | Ipswich Jets |
| Centre | Kyle Feldt | Townsville Blackhawks |
| Five-eighth | Israel Eliab | PNG Hunters |
| Halfback | Michael Parker-Walshe | Townsville Blackhawks |
| Prop | Daniel Beasley | Townsville Blackhawks |
| Hooker | Josh Chudleigh | Mackay Cutters |
| Second-row | Anthony Cherrington | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Lock | Mitchell Frei | Wynnum Manly Seagulls |