By William Crutcher
Norths Devils will meet Burleigh Bears in Saturday’s 2025 Hostplus Cup grand final after a last-minute strike against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls that sent Bishop Park into a frenzy.
On a famous Sunday afternoon at Bishop Park, the Devils were down by two points and down to their last tackle with 65 seconds remaining in the preliminary final.
The premiers had surged down field with the help of James Flack’s 15-metre run and silky hands as all 13 Devils on the field handled the ball in the last attacking set.
On the last tackle, halfback Sean O’Sullivan threw a pinpoint cutout pass to Jacob Gagan who found Manase Kaho in the corner to push Norths ahead 18-16.
Kaho crossed in front of an ecstatic crowd on the hill for something the Devils had done only once in their unbeaten 11-game finals winning streak – coming from behind to win in the final minutes of the match.
But this match wasn’t over.
With 30 seconds remaining, Wynnum regathered the restart and set up for a shot at a two-point field goal.
Halfback Jock Madden’s kick fell centimetres short of the crossbar but Wynnum centres Selwyn Cobbo and Delouise Hoeter rushed for the loose ball.
Desperate efforts from Devils Brody Tamarua and Gagan forced the ball out of play and sealed Norths’ fourth grand final berth in five seasons.
The Devils have won all three of those grand finals but they are yet to play Burleigh in a decider.
Devils coach Rohan Smith had faith in his playing group after Wynnum scored with seven minutes remaining to take a 16-14 lead.
“There is a lot of belief in the team, I have a lot of belief in the players. I thought we would get another chance to at least force extra time. When we scored I was relieved but not surprised,” Smith said.
“Wynnum are a quality team. The game could have gone either way.”
Norths started well with their experienced halves linking up in the second minute as O’Sullivan kicked it into the in-goal and for Jack Ahearn to dive on the ball for a 6-0 lead.
In what was shaping as an arm wrestle, points were hard to get as both sides engaged in a field possession battle for the first 20 minutes of the match.
Wynnum struck in the 24th minute with a Hoeter try to tie the game at 6-all.
Kenny Bromwich returned from injury to a Devils forward pack led by captain Kierran Moseley. Peter Hola, Sebastian Su’a and Flack started in the middle while Shereb was on the edge with Bromwich.
After some tough sets in defence, Norths reclaimed the lead with Tony Tumusa barging over in the 33rd minute against the team he played for last year.
But Wynnum seized an opportunity late in the half to go the break ahead 12-10.
“We started off really well but we were down 12-10 but we thought we had been the better team,” O’Sullivan said. “It was important to start fast in the second half and that is what we did.”
Norths drew first blood in the second half with centre Jordan Lipp finished off a slick move through five sets of hands to lead 14-12.
Norths rookie Lauloto Salei was thrown right into the action as he played the final minutes as the Devils held their nerve in a classic.
The Devils’ final drive started with fullback Matthew Milson collecting a kick 75 metres out, starting one of the most famous attacking sets in Norths’ history.
The ball went from left to right and back again before Ahearn played the ball on the final tackle, 18 metres out from the line.
Moseley hit O’Sullivan moving forward before launching to Gagan who stepped around Cobbo and found Kaho for a dive into the corner.
It rekindled memories of the Devils’ 2022 qualifying final win over Burleigh when Tumusa blazed through the Bears’ defence with two minutes remaining to hand Norths a winning break.
NORTHS DEVILS 18 (Jack Ahearn, Tony Tumusa, Jordan Lipp, Manase Kaho tries, Sean O’Sullivan 1 goal) bt WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS 16 (Deloise Hoeter, Liam Sutton, Ronald Philitoga tries, Jock Madden 2 goals) at Bishop Park.
