No half measures for Queanbeyan Blues IN the space of 13 minutes during last Sunday’s semi-final victory over the Belconnen Scholars, the two halves of the Queanbeyan Blues’ premiership puzzle may have finally clicked into place.
The Blues will contest their first Canberra Raiders Cup first-grade grand final since 2008 next weekend after grinding out a 32-25 win against the Scholars at the West Belconnen Leagues Club.
The victory was the side’s first since July 16 and was built on the back a superb showing from the Blues’ star halves pairing of Ben Nicoll and five-eighth Justin Giteau.
Nicoll and Giteau were brought to the club this season with the aim of guiding the Queanbeyan powerhouse back into premiership contention after missing the finals in 2010.
Until half-an-hour into Sunday’s match against Belconnen however, they had failed to form the lethal combination expected from two of the competition’s premier playmakers.
But with the Blues trailing 18-8 against the minor premiers and in need of a spark after nearly six weeks without a win, Nicoll and Giteau played their cards and came up trumps.
Showing his strength with ball in hand, Nicoll cut straight through the Scholars defence before putting Giteau in under the posts.
Three minutes after half time the two produced an almost identical play as Nicoll sent Giteau away for a second time to give the Blues a seven-point lead.
It was a buffer the visitors wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the match.
And after putting in their best performance of the year, Nicoll said his partnership with Giteau was only going to improve before next weekend’s title decider.
“I think it would have been [our best game], that’s the first time we’ve really clicked and considering we hadn’t played for two or three weeks I still reckon we’ve got a fair bit more in us,” he said.
“Justin’s a great organiser, he gets the boys around the park and I’m happy to take a step back and concentrate on my running game.”
The Blues’ playmakers were given almost free reign at times behind a dominant display from Queanbeyan’s forwards who comprehensively outplayed their highly rated Scholars counterparts.
Playing in the unfamiliar lock-forward role, Steve McLean put in his best game of the year while tireless prop Jay Lasscock was immense, scoring two tries and setting up a third.
Should the Queanbeyan Kangaroos defeat the Scholars in this weekend’s preliminary final, the two cross-town rivals will meet in a blockbuster local rugby league showdown at Seiffert Oval.
Source: queanbeyanage.com.au
Topic: No half measures for Queanbeyan Blues
