By Colleen Edwards (QRL content producer)
The final weekend of regular round fixtures in the Hostplus Cup will be played this week with plenty going on the line for a number of teams.
The top eight is yet to be decided with teams needing to win to secure their finals berth.
Teams out of contention for the finals will be doing their best to end their seasons on a high note and can throw a few spanners in the works, with the competition proving on many occasions that upset can happen in any round.
The final round of the regular season is also Turn to Me Round in the Hostplus Cup, an important round that focuses on the importance of mental wellbeing. The round began in 2013 and continues to reinforce the importance of mateship during the off season.
This initiative, first started by former Redcliffe Dolphins players Isaak Ah Mau and Petero Civoniceva, and Ipswich Jets chair Steve Johnson, is supported by the fundraising efforts of Swich On Inc each year.
All players and match officials will wear blue socks as a symbol of the round, while mini footballs with the ‘Turn to Me’ message will also be distributed by players into the crowd.
This weekend, Sunday’s fan-voted feature match of the round is between Burleigh Bears and Wynnum Manly Seagulls and can be viewed live and free at QPlus.tv.
Here is your Round 20 Turn to Me Round ‘stats pack’ with all of the numbers you need to know for this weekend’s games, courtesy of Brad Tallon.
Hostplus Cup Round 20
Head-to-head: Tweed Seagulls 19, Tigers 16, drawn 1
Hashtags: #HostplusCup #TIGESvTWEED
Broadcast: Qplus.tv
- While they currently sit in seventh, Brisbane Tigers are one of the teams locked in a battle for a finals berth
- The home side will be wanting to ensure coach Jon Buchanan, who has indicated this is to be his final year coaching at this level, is in charge for a few more weeks. Skipper Darren Nicholls has also expressed his intention to retire from Cup
- When the two sides met in Round 1, the Tigers prevailed in a close match, defeating Tweed 20-16, however, Tweed have won three of the past four games between these two sides
- Coming into this match, Tweed have three wins and a draw from their past four games, moving from ninth to fifth
- Tweed’s 42-0 win last week was their most against, and biggest win over the Blackhawks
- The Tigers though have won four of the past five games played between these two sides at home
- The Tigers require one point to bring up 15000 in the Cup. They have 13080 against
- Tweed will be without Brent Woolf for this match after he took an early guilty plea for a crusher tackle
- This will be the 50th Cup game for Tweed half Will Brimson who has also previously played with Wynnum Manly
- This will also be the 50th Cup game for Tigers and 76th Cup game overall for Brett Greinke, who has played with Norths Devils in the past
- Tweed skipper Lindon McGrady requires four goals to bring up 250 in Cup
Read the whole round preview here
You can watch all Hostplus Cup games via QPlus.tv
