Norths Devils crossed off one of their few modern hoodoos when they survived blasting autumn rain to defeat Sunshine Coast Falcons 26-16 in their Hostplus Cup match last night.
This was the Devils’ first win at Sunshine Coast Stadium in eight years and it came in driving wind and rain that sent the crowd scurrying to the back of the grandstand.
The Devils scored five tries, including a match-sealer for hard-working lock James Flack in the 79th minute, to record another win for coach Rohan Smith that was:
- The club’s first at Sunshine Coast Stadium since the 2017 Devils defeated a Falcons team including Scott Drinkwater, Justin Olam and Tui Kamikamica
- The Devils’ eighth consecutive win stretching back to last season
- The Devils’ fourth win from four matches this season – matching the club’s starts in 2014 and 2021 – including three wins on the road, to stay on top of the ladder.
The Devils opened well when skipper Kierran Moseley scored from dummy-half in the fourth minute, making the Falcons guess in defence before he crossed in the tackle of Melbourne Storm fullback Sualauvi Fa’alogo.
When wingers LJ Nonu and Manase Kaho scored to stretch the Devils to a 16-2 lead in the 24th minute, the premiers threatened to surge away.
Nonu’s try in the 16th minute was the best of the match. Devils centre Jacob Gagan scooped a loose Falcons ball 80 metres out from the line and passed to Kaho.
Kaho’s 40-metre run ended before the next play went through seven sets of hands to the opposite side of the field for Nonu to complete.
But, like the weather, this was never going to be an easy night.
The Falcons scored three of the next four tries to draw their saturated supporters back into the game. The home supporters rejoiced when the Devils were reduced to 12 men in the 57th minute due to a sin-bin but the visitors did not relinquish the lead.
Coach Smith congratulated his players after the win for grinding through a challenging second half when the Falcons clawed back.
“This is a tough competition and sometimes you really have to work hard to win games and that was one of those nights,” Smith said.
“Teams can learn a lot from those games. We had to find something against a quality team that fought hard.”
The Devils have a block of three games between byes, highlighted by the Easter Saturday grand final rematch with Redcliffe at Bishop Park.
That will be the Devils’ second home game this season and will be followed six days later by another long weekend home match – an Anzac night clash with Western Clydesdales.
The Devils continue to draw on the depth of their squad with multiple changes to the team that defeated Northern Pride before last weekend’s bye.
Dolphins NRL prop Kenny Bromwich returned to the Devils and again performed strongly while Nonu was back on the wing.
The Devils were again well-served across the field with Smith able to afford game time across his 17-man squad.
NORTHS DEVILS 26 (Manase Kaho 2, Kierran Moseley, LJ Nonu, James Flack tries, Jordan Lipp 3 goals) bt SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 16 (Zion Johnson, Harrison McIndoe, Flynn Camilleri tries, Cody Hunter 2 goals) at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
