Norths have steamed into the Easter break with the best defensive record in the Hostplus Cup after dismantling Souths Logan Magpies in a Rivalry Round clash at Bishop Park last night.
The Devils conceded only one try to the Magpies in a 32-8 win that was impressive at both ends of the field.
The six Devils tries, shared evenly among the backs and forwards, showed the attacking spark of coach Dave Elliott’s new-look team but the defence has been the talking point of the toughest three-match start in the competition.
The Devils began the season on the road to minor premiers Burleigh followed by another away trip to heavyweights Redcliffe topped off by a home opener against a Magpies team that finished second in the regular season last year.
Norths head into next weekend’s bye with a 2-1 win-loss record and a total of only 36 points conceded across that challenging start.
The path doesn’t get easier because the Devils’ next three matches are also against 2023 finalists in Wynnum Manly (away), CQ Capras (home) and Northern Pride (away).
Elliott told his players after the match that their defensive resolve was the key to restricting Souths Logan to a 57th minute try to five-eighth Radean Robinson despite the presence of Broncos NRL squad members Jordan Pereira, Blake Mozer and Ben Te Kura under coach Karmichael Hunt.
The Devils made fewer mistakes than in last weekend’s loss to Redcliffe, unleashing a wave of raids on the Magpies line which eventually cracked when Gerome Burns’ pinpoint kick fell for winger Manase Kaho in the 20th minute.
The Devils’ first three tries came through their right attacking edge with premiership centre Jacob Gagan twisting and powering over from dummy-half in the 31st minute before Kaho speared over from a scrum play in the 48th minute.
The forwards then took over with Campbell Duffy (63rd minute) crashing over in his Devils debut before impressive Dolphins NRL second-rower Oryn Keeley was rewarded for his hard work five minutes later with his first try for the Devils.
Keeley’s Dolphins NRL teammate Jeremiah Simbiken produced a magic act in the final play of the game when he intercepted a short Magpies pass and sprinted 45 metres for a try.
The Devils introduced Duffy and winger Blake Paskins for their Norths’ debuts in a team that was forced to make changes due to injury and unavailability.
Dolphins NRL forward Mason Teague started at lock while James Flack started at prop. Premiership prop Jayden Stephens made his 2024 debut off a bench that included Devils junior Zach Brooks.
Norths continue to grow their combinations in a squad that has yielded 14 Devils debutants in just three matches including half Jack Wright, fullback Julian Christian, lightning back Jordan Lipp and Dolphins NRL centre Tesi Niu.
Kierran Moseley’s leadership has been pivotal to the Devils, steering a team that has benefited from Eddie Blacker’s presence in the middle.
“This is a long season and we know we have a long way to go especially having so many players new to the club,” Elliott said.
“But we want to strengthen our defence and we spoke about defending our line in our first home game for the year.
“Souths Logan are a very good team and we have enormous respect for them.
“It’s such a difficult competition and there are no easy games. We’ll enjoy the weekend off and then we’re at Kougari Oval to play a Wynnum team that is always strong.”
NORTHS DEVILS 32 (Manase Kaho 2, Jacob Gagan, Campbell Duffy, Oryn Keeley, Jeremiah Simbiken tries, Gerome Burns 4 goals) bt SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES 8 (Radean Robinson try, Brandon Finnegan 2 goals) at Bishop Park.
