By William Crutcher
Brandon Finnegan’s pinpoint kick in the 79th minute found Kane Rushton for a try that enabled Norths Devils to seize a draw from a gripping Hostplus Cup clash with Souths Logan Magpies yesterday.
The Devils had to score twice in the last six minutes to claw back a Magpies team that had controlled parts of the second half in one of the most entertaining clashes at Premiers’ Park in recent years.
In a match stacked with turning points – captain Kierran Moseley’s rattling tackle on the Magpies late in the first half forced a turnover for a Devils try – it came down to Finnegan’s dagger with fewer than 90 seconds on the clock.
The halfback had a chance to steal the game from his former team with a sideline conversion but the kick into the teeth of a fierce breeze fell just short, leaving the scores tied at 24-all.
The Devils claimed a point against a Magpies team that featured four fulltime Broncos players including Jesse Arthars who spilled the ball in the dying moments when Connor Broadhurst crunched him with the game on the line.
That led to Finnegan’s kick for the Rushton try in the south-west corner that has become a favourite escape route for the Devils with some memorable finishes there in recent seasons.
Norths have not had one fulltime NRL player this year but their squad of pure Devils have a win, draw and a loss from their opening three matches.
Rushton is one of those Devils to step up, scoring five tries in two weeks since he was a late call-up before last weekend’s win over the Western Clydesdales.
Norths coach Rohan Smith was impressed by yesterday’s spirited game as the Devils scored five tries to four.
“I thought both teams were committed and spirited, it was a very high standard of [Hostplus] Cup footy,” Smith said.
“The other team was clinical, we played some nice footy ourselves at times. It is a game that could have gone either way. I like how we battled through and showed some resilience, even though we were eight points down in the last 10 minutes we still played calm footy and earnt the right to be in the finish.”
Norths welcomed back their three-time premiership player Jack Ahearn who made his presence felt with some crucial tackles and a nice cutout pass that sent winger Zac Taibi over at the southern end of the ground just 19 seconds into the second half.
That was a perfect resumption for a Devils team that weathered a heavy workload before halftime.
Down to 12 men through a sin-bin offence, the Devils defended their line against 14 consecutive plays for the Magpies.
But Norths forced two errors including a Brody Tamarua try-saver on Broncos-contracted halfback Thomas Duffy, followed by Moseley’s rattler with fewer than two minutes left in the half to give Norths possession.
The Devils cashed in when Ahearn’s cutout pass found Broadhurst who sent Rushton over for his first of the day for a 12-6 halftime lead.
The Devils led 16-6 after Taibi’s try but the Magpies scored 18 consecutive points through their powerful attack and Bronco Tom Duffy’s conversions before Norths responded with one of the best tries of the day.
Ahearn’s attacking kick found fullback Matthew Milson, celebrating his 50th game for the Devils, who offloaded to Finnegan. The halfback passed to Tom Rafter who palmed away Arthars and then gave it to Rushton who worked hard to score in the corner.
The Devils continue to build fitness and to cover for minor injuries. Keanu Dawson worked for 80 minutes in his starting debut for Norths.
The Devils will take on Brisbane Tigers on the road this Saturday afternoon before a bye for Easter weekend.
NORTHS DEVILS 24 (Matthew Milson, Kane Rushton 2, Zac Taibi tries, Brandon Finnegan 2 goals) drew SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES 24 (Jesse Arthars, Callum Eggerling, Mitchell Owen, Pride Petterson-Robati tries, Thomas Duffy 4 goals) at Premiers’ Park.
Photo by Alan Drinnen
