The Uni-Norths Owls were outgunned by the Queanbeyan Whites in Round 6 of the John I Dent Cup, falling 45–35 in an entertaining but ultimately frustrating encounter at neutral territory, Phillip Oval.

 

The Owls began brightly, taking early control through hooker Christopher Mickelson, who crashed over in the 7th minute to cap a strong opening spell. Samuel Toa slotted the conversion for a 7–0 lead.

 

Queanbeyan responded with three unanswered tries to seize control of the half. Winger Eli Sagala struck first in the 22nd minute, before fullback Nathan Carroll followed up with a score of his own in the 32nd. He converted his own effort to put the Whites ahead 14–7.

 

Just three minutes later, Hudson Creighton added to the tally, with halfback Cullin Cooper-Jones nailing the sideline conversion. The Owls’ problems compounded when Christopher Mickelson was shown a yellow card for an intentional infringement in the 29th minute, forcing a temporary reshuffle in the forward pack. Despite defending gamely, the Owls conceded a penalty goal on the stroke of halftime, with Cooper-Jones extending the Whites’ lead to 24–7.

 

Uni-Norths came out of the sheds firing, injecting Te Huia Kutia and Dylan Challita into the pack. The change had immediate impact—Mickelson, back from the bin, powered over for his second try of the afternoon in the 46th minute, again converted by Toa to bring the Owls back to 24–14.

 

Queanbeyan hit back on the hour mark, with Salim grabbing his second of the match in the 59th minute, converted once more by Cooper-Jones. But the Owls refused to lie down. They made further changes in the 65th, with Patrick Callaughan replacing the injured Siave Seti, and were rewarded immediately as winger Issy Vaili finished sharply out wide. Toa converted from the touchline, narrowing the gap to 31–21.

 

Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed, however, as the Whites poured on two more converted tries in quick succession. Cooper-Jones grabbed one for himself in the 70th minute and then converted, before setting up Salim’s second just two minutes later to stretch the lead to 45–21.

 

The Owls continued to ring the changes, with Ben Martens and Michael Browne entering the fray, and fought on gamely until the final whistle. Their efforts were rewarded with a late try to replacement prop Te Huia Kutia, who barged over in the 80th minute. Toa maintained his perfect record from the tee, converting to bring the final score to 45–35.

 

Despite a spirited performance and a strong finish, the Owls will rue defensive lapses and ill-discipline during the first half that allowed the Whites to dictate terms.

 

Final Score:
Queanbeyan Whites 45 – 35 Uni-Norths Owls
Half-time: Whites 24 – 7

 

Scoring Summary

Owls Tries:
Mickelson (7’, 46’), Vaili (65’), Kutia (80’)

Owls Conversions:
Toa 5/5

 

Whites Tries:
Sagala (22’), Carroll (32’), Creighton (35’), Salim (59’, 72’), Cooper-Jones (70’)

Whites Conversions:
Cooper-Jones 6/6, Carroll 1/1

Whites Penalty Goal:
Cooper-Jones (40’)

 

Team Lists

Uni-Norths Owls 1st Grade

1. Zeb Maddinson

2. Christopher Mickelson

3. Vaotangi Mafi

4. Deklyn Reid

5. Samuel Mickelson

6. Tobias Macpherson

7. Joshua Reis

8. Miller Tauiliili-Pelesasa

9. Ben Roberton

10. Samuel Toa

11. Stirling Doyle

12. Siave Seti

13. Kealii Leuluai

14. Issy Vaili

15. Charlie Crozier

Substitutes:
Riley Sellars, Tauati Chan Tung, Te Huia Kutia, Ben Martens, Dylan Challita, Polynesia Crichton, Patrick Callaughan, Michael Browne

 

Queanbeyan Whites 1st Grade

1. Jean-benit Madjaga

2. Ewald Kruger

3. Isaiah Kolopeaua

4. Jack Preston

5. Jack Gordon

6. Judah Qoro Saumaisue

7. Waisea Tudulu

8. Riley Turner

9. Cullin Cooper-Jones

10. Andrew McFarlane

11. Koko Salim

12. Jakob Biet

13. Hudson Creighton

14. Eli Sagala

15. Nathan Carroll

Substitutes:
Mitchell Bell, Nate Hepi, Lochlan Smith, Zane Marolt, William Brisbane, Jacob Mead, Blake Miller, Maligi Finau