Old foes Norths and Redcliffe will square off in another Hostplus Cup decider after the Devils stretched their record finals winning streak in front of a huge Bishop Park crowd on Sunday.
The 46-30 preliminary final victory over PNG Hunters was the Devils’ eighth consecutive finals win, extending the Cup record they claimed from Ipswich (five wins).
And it placed them into Sunday’s grand final at Kayo Stadium against a Redcliffe team that stunned minor premiers Northern Pride in a stirring clash in Cairns on Saturday.
This will be the Devils’ third grand final in four years.
Norths won premierships in 2021 and 2022 – the latter coming against Redcliffe in a gripping match that marked the first grand final between the clubs after more than 60 years of rivalry.
“Redcliffe were very impressive in Cairns and we know every game between Norths and Redcliffe has extra feeling to it,” Norths coach Dave Elliott said.
“This is an exciting week and a great opportunity for everyone involved.”
The Devils scored nine tries to defeat Redcliffe in the first week of finals before unloading another eight on the Hunters on Sunday.
But the preliminary final was tighter than the scoreline suggested.
The Devils sprinted to a 16-0 lead after 17 minutes following tries to Oryn Keeley, Blake Paskins and prop Cooper Jenkins.
But PNG blew two tries past the Devils in four minutes to bring the home team back to a 16-12 deficit.
The crowd of several thousand was split between home fans and the passionate Hunters fans on PNG Independence weekend.
But the Devils were able to edge away when the Hunters threatened.
Dolphins NRL winger Tesi Niu crossed in the 39th minute from an attacking Devils kick for a 22-12 halftime lead.
But the Hunters returned fire with a long-range try in the first set of the second half, bringing supporters to their feet.
Four minutes later, Julian Christian stole another try from dummy-half to give the Devils a double-figure lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“We knew PNG would be tough and they always kept coming at us. It was not an easy game,” Elliott said.
“They should be congratulated on their season especially with two finals wins.
“We have some players who have been through grand final weeks before and others getting ready for their first grand final so it will be a special week.”
The Devils had only three players in Sunday’s team – captain Kierran Moseley, Jacob Gagan and Jack Ahearn – who featured in the 2022 preliminary final win over Sunshine Coast Falcons.
Ten players from Sunday’s team are in their first season with Norths including Dolphins NRL players Niu, Keeley, Jeremiah Simbiken and Mason Teague.
The quartet have been embraced by Devils supporters who again saw their combinations, particularly when Keeley found space to offload to Niu, who sent Jordan Lipp away for a 40-metre try.
Lipp and Keeley were involved in the Devils’ final try, also down the left side as Lipp’s break found Keeley and Christian backing up for his second try.
The Devils emerged unscathed from Sunday’s match with all players expected to be available for the grand final.
Norths has used 32 players this season with four – Moseley, Simbiken, Lipp and Manase Kaho – featuring in all 22 matches.
NORTHS DEVILS 46 (Julian Christian 2, Oryn Keeley, Blake Paskins, Cooper Jenkins, Tesi Niu, Jordan Lipp, Jeremiah Simbiken tries, Lipp 7 goals) bt PNG HUNTERS 30 (Finley Glare, Robert Mathias, Alex Max, Solo Wane, Judah Rimbu tries, Jamie Makovo 5 goals) at Bishop Park.
