QUARTER FINALS

Fairfield Stallions vs. Wellington Cougars
Wellington have started off their Crown Casino Risk campaign with an ominous 46-10 embarassment of the Fairfield Stallions. Coach Michael Magro was unavailable for comment after the humiliating loss, whilst Wellington's Nathan Hoy was pleased to get through to the second round after last year's first round debacle.
Fairfield: Ryan Lawton and Rocky Elsom. Magro 1/2
Wellington: Anthony Minichiello, Amos Roberts 2, John Sitizein, Sean Long, Simeon Rice, Kevin Sinfield, and Lesley Vainikolo. Sinfield 7/9
PoM Points: Simeon Rice 3, Amos Roberts 2, and Kevin Sinfield 1.

Hawkesbury Mavericks vs. Surfers Paradise Punks
It was a similar lop-sided scoreline in Surfers Paradise's clash with Hawkesbury, the Punks far too good for the Division Two heavyweights, winning 38-10 after a dominant first half saw them 24-6 leaders.
Hawkesbury: Joe Roff and Brad Drew. Ross 1/2
Surfers Paradise: Jonah Lomu, Tyrone Pau, Iestyn Harris 2, Anton Oliver, and Johan Weissner. Hannay 5/7
PoM Points: Anton Oliver 3, Johan Weissner 2, and Craig Frawley 1.

Sydney Oilers vs. Shanghai Traders
Sydney were hardly impressive in their opening round hit out against the struggling Shanghai Traders, but were able to come away with a 30-18 win. It was a solid first sixty minutes from the relegation contenders, but Sydney dropped off towards the end, allowing their Chinese opponents to claw back to within twelve points.
Sydney: Brent Tate 2, Jason Ryles, Ali Lauititi, and John Skandalis. Walker 5/5
Shanghai: Darren Taylor, Jaiden Love, and Nathan Sutton. Prichard 3/3
PoM Points: Jason Ryles 3, John Skandalis 2, and Shane Elford 1.

Waikato Breakers vs. Geelong Bengals
In the closest game of the opening round, the Waikato Breakers have scored an upset 28-16 win over Geelong to advance to the semi finals. It was an enthralling clash between two of Division Two's most improved clubs, with the second half highlighted by plenty of tries before Ben Galea sealed it in the 72nd.
Waikato: Ben Galea, Graeme Frame, Adrian Lam, Richie McCaw, and Harris Knofke. Humphrys 4/5
Geelong: Dwayne Alvarez, Tim Donnelly, and Tristan Davies. Donnelly 2/3
PoM Points: Harris Knofke 3, Richie McCaw 2, and David Humphrys 1.

SEMI FINALS

Wellington Cougars vs. Sydney Oilers
Sydney may be seventeenth in Division Two, but they played like they were second in their elimination playoff with Wellington. Despite trailing 18-8 at halftime, the Oilers never let the game get too far away from them, but were continually thwarted by Wellington's commitment in defence. In the end, the superior class and confidence of Wellington proved telling, the Cougars 36-28 victors. The win takes Wellington to their third Crown Casino Risk decider.
Wellington: Anthony Minichiello, Jamie Peacock, Amos Roberts, Sean Long, Jerry Seu Seu, and Timana Tahu. Sinfield 6/6
Sydney: Brent Tate, Joe Rokocoko, Grant Martin, and Craig Wing. Walker 6/6
PoM Points: Anthony Minichiello 3, Lesley Vainikolo 2, and Kevin Sinfield 1.

Waikato Breakers vs. Surfers Paradise Punks
In the other semi final, it was an entirely different story, with the Punks rolling right over Waikato to set up a final showdown with the Wellington Cougars. A closely contested first half had fans on the edge of their seats, with Surfers Paradise leading 16-10, but from there it was all one way traffic- an eighteen point second half setting up a 34-12 fulltime score in favour of the Queenslanders.
Waikato: Ben Galea 2. Humphrys 2/3
Surfers Paradise: Jonah Lomu, Tyrone Pau 2, Glenn Morrison, Anton Oliver, and Frank Miranda. Hannay 5/6
PoM Points: Darren Lockyer 3, Iestyn Harris 2, and Tyrone Pau 1.

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF- Sydney Oilers vs. Waikato Breakers
Waikato have scored a stunning upset in the third place playoff to claim one point and send Sydney home ruing missed opportunities. The Breakers came out enthusiastic and confident, blasting Sydney off the park with three first half tries and some desperation defence. From 18-0 down, the Oilers showed their commitment by fighting back to trail 18-16 in the 67th minute. However, a late try and penalty goal sealed the game for Waikato, who move one point closer to a potential finals berth. The Oilers, however, were left wondering what went wrong in the first half- and what they can do to avoid relegation from Premier League.
Waikato: Richie Barnett Sr, Adrian Lam, Harris Knofke, and Andre Bowen. Humphrys 5/6
Sydney: Jason Robinson, Ben Kennedy, and Andrew Walker. Walker 2/3
HT Score: Waikato 18-0
Penalties: Waikato 5-4
Completion Rates: Waikato 72% Sydney 66%
Possession: Waikato 53% Sydney 47%
PoM Points: David Humphrys 3, Andre Bowen 2, and Harris Knofke.

RISK FINAL- Wellington Cougars vs. Surfers Paradise Punks
Wellington have been here twice already, and have gone away second best on both ocassions. Amazingly, the 2004/2005 Risk final is only the second time that two Premier League sides have contested the competition, with Wellington's two losses coming at the hands Brisbane and Central Coast during their Division Two days. In last year's tournament, Wellington were bundled out by the Punks in the quarter finals, so vengeance was on the cards as the two sides took the field.

The two sides were clearly fired up in the opening exchanges, Wellington's world class forward pack doing plenty of damage, but the Punks' backs biting right back with some incisive returns. One such return almost landed Josh Hannay with first points, the Queensland centre held up by a desperate Amos Roberts tackle. The fourteenth minute saw the Punks draw first blood, a penalty putting them on the attack, and big Frank Miranda plowing through some feeble midfield defence to score adjacent to the left upright. Josh Hannay converted with ease, and gave the Punks a handy 6-0 lead. Six became ten only six minutes later, another penalty giving the Punks field position, and Matt King getting under a towering Darren Lockyer bomb to score out wide. This time Hannay was unable to convert, leaving it at 10-0.

Wellington's hitback seemed immediate, when a Morrison knock on put the Cougars in excellent field position. A darting run from Simeon Rice looked certain to yield points, but somehow Johan Weissner was able to get under the ball carrier and strip the ball one on one. Fans were treated to defence of the same vintage for the remaining twenty minutes of the first half, with both packs showcasing finals' worthy defence to leave it at 10-0 when the siren went.

HALFTIME: Surfers Paradise lead Wellington 10-0

The battle for field position in the second half was intense, so much so that neither side visited the opposition twenty until the 55th minute of play, when a Johan Weissner knock on gave the Cougars a gift set of six. They didn't waste any time converting possession into points, Kevin Sinfield running onto a brilliant Sean Long cut out pass to score out wide. Sinfield missed the relatively easy conversion, leaving his side six adrift with twenty remaining.

The Punks seemed determined to capitulate as the clock wound down, their usually level headed halves pairing of Harris and Lockyer making several rookie mistakes and handing the Cougars all the possession they'd need to secure a win. Somehow the defence always held, however, thanks largely to the work of Weissner and Betham around the ruck.

The 75th minute provided perhaps the highlight of the entire clash, when Timana Tahu knocked on and the Cougars, through some brilliant work from Simeon Rice, managed to win the scrum against the feed before finding Sean Long unmarked. The former English halfback sliced right through the Punks' line, and seemed a certainty to score before Iestyn Harris chased him down and forced the ball loose in a tremendous one on one tackle. The Cougars tried valiantly in the final minutes, but catch up football is high risk football, and the siren sounded as, fittingly, the Cougars found touch on the full with a wobbly Kevin Sinfield chip. The siren sounded, and once again the Cougars would be playing bridesmaid.

FULLTIME
Surfers Paradise Punks 10
Matt King
Frank Miranda
Hannay 1/2
defeated
Wellington Cougars 4
Kevin Sinfield
Sinfield 0/1

PoM Points
Johan Weissner.............3
Iestyn Harris.................2
Monty Betham...............1

FUCK FUCK FUCK
:MAD: :MAD: :MAD:
:yellow: :yellow: :yellow:
:censored: :censored: :censored:
:angry: :angry: :angry:
:ouch: :ouch: :ouch:

There much better....

Team of the Tournament
1: Anthony Minichiello (Wellington)
2: Amos Roberts (Wellington)
3: Iestyn Harris (Surfers Paradise)
4: Shane Elford (Sydney)
5: Lesley Vainikolo (Wellington)
6: David Humphrys (Waikato)
7: Darren Lockyer (Surfers Paradise)
8: Johan Weissner (Surfers Paradise)
9: Harris Knofke (Waikato)
10: Anton Oliver (Surfers Paradise)
11: Andre Bowen (Waikato)
12: Richie McCaw (Waikato)
13: Kevin Sinfield (Wellington)

Player of the Tournament: Johan Weissner

Wellington: 4
Surfers Paradise: 4
Waikato: 4
Sydney: 1

yeeeah boiiiiii
you know the punks boys, they know how to play
theyll whoop yo motherfuckin ass on any given day
Its about time we broke our championship cherry
it all started with the thrashin of hawkesbury
then an easy semi against the waikato breakers
they found out we are dominate like shaq & the lakers
then came the final with wello lead by nath hoy
the punks in the title, our first yeeeah boy
i know yall bitches wanna hear these lyrics put to disc
but im too busy winning the crown casino risk
beyotch!

nice write up chris, well done nath on the 2 and shanghai on the 1. hard luck roger, better luck next time buddy. :P

ha, Weisnner is a bench guy as well who sometimes doesnt even play! good onya weisnner!

haha nice work pwa....well done winning the Risk two ;)

thanks mate! im looking forward to maybe playing you in finals footy ;)

woohoo four waikato players and one ex waikato team player (amos roberts) in team of the tournament. good show from been first reserve for this tournament