The 2008 Queensland Cup season was the 13th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Queensland Wizard Cup due to sponsorship from Wizard Home Loans featured 11 teams playing a 26-week long season (including finals) from March to September.[1]

2008 Queensland Cup
DurationMarch 15 – September 13, 2008
Teams11
Premiers Souths Logan Magpies (1st title)
Minor premiers Ipswich Jets (1st title)
Matches played116
Points scored5,635
Top points scorer(s) Nick Parfitt
Player of the year Nat Bowman (Courier Mail Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Adam Fielder
← 2007
2009 →

The Souths Logan Magpies won their first premiership after defeating the Ipswich Jets 24–18 at North Ipswich Reserve. Central Comets' five-eighth Nat Bowman was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Courier Mail Medal.[2][3][4]

Teams

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Two new teams entered the Queensland Cup in 2008, as the competition expanded north with the Mackay Cutters and the Northern Pride. Mackay hadn't hosted a team since the 1996 season, while the Pride, based in Cairns, were represented by the Cairns Cyclones from 1996 to 2000. The two new clubs replaced the Aspley Broncos and North Queensland Young Guns, who withdrew from the competition.[5]

With the loss of Aspley and the Young Guns, the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys formed new feeder club partnerships. The Broncos sent players to six different clubs and the Cowboys sent players to the Cutters and Pride, while the Canberra Raiders formed a partnership with the Souths Logan Magpies. 2008 marked the first season since 1997 that the Melbourne Storm were not affiliated with the Norths Devils, instead forming the Central Coast Storm who played in the NSW Cup.[6]

Colours Club Home ground(s) Head coach(s) Captain(s) NRL Affiliate
Burleigh Bears Pizzey Park Jim Lenihan Shane O'Flanagan   Brisbane Broncos
Central Comets Browne Park Wayne Barnett Wayne Barnett   Brisbane Broncos
Easts Tigers Langlands Park Darren Smith Trent Young   Brisbane Broncos
Ipswich Jets North Ipswich Reserve Kevin Walters Danny Coburn   Gold Coast Titans
Mackay Cutters Mackay JRL Grounds Shane Muspratt Shane Muspratt   North Queensland Cowboys
Northern Pride Barlow Park Andrew Dunemann Chris Sheppard   North Queensland Cowboys
Norths Devils Bishop Park Mark Gee Marc Brentnall   Brisbane Broncos
Redcliffe Dolphins Dolphin Oval Gary O'Brien Troy Lindsay   Brisbane Broncos
Souths Logan Magpies Davies Park Paul Bramley Phil Dennis   Canberra Raiders
Tweed Heads Seagulls Ned Byrne Field Michael Woods Brad Davis   Gold Coast Titans
Wynnum Manly Seagulls Kougari Oval Shane McNally Darren Bain   Brisbane Broncos

Ladder

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2008 Queensland Cup
Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1   Ipswich Jets 20 16 0 4 2 656 329 +327 36
2   Souths Logan Magpies (P) 20 14 0 6 2 592 378 +214 32
3   Northern Pride 20 13 0 7 2 494 416 +78 30
4   Wynnum Manly Seagulls 20 11 2 7 2 526 514 +12 28
5   Redcliffe Dolphins 20 11 1 8 2 498 418 +80 27
6   Burleigh Bears 20 11 0 9 2 528 506 +22 26
7   Easts Tigers 20 8 1 11 2 454 462 -8 21
8   Tweed Heads Seagulls 20 7 1 12 2 507 535 -28 19
9   Mackay Cutters 20 7 1 12 2 416 488 -72 19
10   Central Comets 20 7 0 13 2 404 595 -191 18
11   Norths Devils 20 2 0 18 2 288 722 -434 8

Regular season

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The 2008 Queensland Cup regular season featured 22 rounds, with one team receiving a bye in each round. Each team played 20 games and received two byes.

Final series

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Home Score Away Match Information
Date Venue
Qualifying / Elimination Finals
  Wynnum Manly Seagulls 16 – 50   Redcliffe Dolphins 23 August 2008 BMD Kougari Oval
  Souths Logan Magpies 16 – 40   Northern Pride 24 August 2008 Davies Park
Semi-finals
  Ipswich Jets 34 – 16   Northern Pride 30 August 2008 Briggs Road Complex
  Souths Logan Magpies 16 – 14   Redcliffe Dolphins 30 August 2008 Meakin Park
Preliminary Final
  Northern Pride 12 – 16   Souths Logan Magpies 6 September 2008 Langlands Park
Grand Final
  Ipswich Jets 18 – 24   Souths Logan Magpies 13 September 2008 North Ipswich Reserve
Qualifying / Elimination FinalsMajor / Minor Semi-finalsPreliminary FinalGrand Final
1  Ipswich34  Ipswich18
  Northern Pride16  Souths Logan24
2  Souths Logan16  Northern Pride12
3  Northern Pride40  Souths Logan16
  Souths Logan16
  Redcliffe14
4  Wynnum Manly16
5  Redcliffe50

Grand Final

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Saturday, 13 September
Ipswich Jets   18 – 24   Souths Logan Magpies
Tries:
Donald Malone 1
Michael Ryan 1
Aaron Sweeney 1
Goals:
Josh Lewis 3
1st: 0 - 18
2nd: 18 - 6
Report
Tries:
1 McKanah Gibson
1 Cy Lasscock
1 Kyle Lodge
1 Matt Templeman
Goals:
2 Tim Cannard
2 Josh White
North Ipswich Reserve
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Justin Eastwood
Player of the Match: Albert Talipeau (Souths Logan)
Ipswich Jets Position Souths Logan Magpies
  1. Troy O'Sullivan
FB
  1. Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e
2. Scott Ireland WG 2. Matt Templeman
3. Donald Malone CE 3. Kyle Lodge
4. Brendon Marshall CE 4. Chad Grintell
5. Smith Samau WG 5. Shea Moylan
6. Josh Lewis FE 19. Brad Cross
7. Ian Lacey HB 7. Albert Talipeau
8. Aaron Sweeney PR 8. Daniel Joyce
9. Michael Ryan HK 9. McKanah Gibson
10. Isaak Ah Mau PR 10. Liam McDonald
11. Kurtis Lingwoodock SR 11. Tim Cannard
12. Trevor Exton SR 12. Lewis Balcomb
13. Danny Coburn (c) LK 13. Josh White
14. Matt McPhee Bench 6. Phil Dennis (c)
15. Scott Alo Bench 14. Graham Levu
16. Leigh Coghill Bench 16. Cy Lasscock
17. Jason Bulgarelli Bench 17. Dashae Francis
Kevin Walters Coach Paul Bramley

Ipswich had their best regular season to date, finishing with their first minor premiership. They then defeated the Northern Pride in the major semi final to earn their second Grand Final appearance. Souths Logan, who finished second and qualified for the finals for just the second time, were upset by the Pride in Week 1 of the finals. In Week 2, they hosted and defeated Redcliffe before getting revenge on the Pride and defeating them 16–12 in the preliminary final to qualify for their first Grand Final.

First half

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Souths Logan got off to a brilliant start when they forced an error off the kickoff and scored in the second minute through prop Cy Lasscock. It took them just five minutes to extend their lead when hooker McKanah Gibson dived over from dummy half in almost the exact spot of their first try. After denying two Ipswich try scoring opportunities, the Magpies crossed for their third try of the game when Matt Templeman intercepted an Ian Lacey pass and sprinted away to score. With two minutes left in the half, Souths Logan converted a penalty goal from in front to lead 18-0.

Second half

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Down 18, Ipswich began their fightback with a try from hooker Michael Ryan just four minutes into the second half. In the 55th minute, the Jets cut the lead to six when centre Donald Malone pulled down a Lacey kick to score. Just a minute later, Ipswich completed the comeback when prop Aaron Sweeney scored under the posts to level the scores. A tense final 20 minutes followed, with Souths Logan being denied a try in the 65th minute and Ipswich missing a field goal from in front in the 78th minute. With 40 seconds left to play, Magpies' halfback Albert Talipeau put his centre Kyle Lodge through a gap close to the line. Lodge was cut down short by Jets' fullback Troy O'Sullivan but got up and scored after O'Sullivan couldn't complete the tackle. Referee Justin Eastwood checked with the video referee, who awarded the try. Josh White converted the try to seal the win and give Souths Logan their first Queensland Cup premiership.[7]

End-of-season awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Queensland Rugby League Website Archived 14 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 17 Dec 2007
  2. ^ "Flashback: Alby's last minute Magpie magic a Sticky special in 2008". 26 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Comets all set for baby broncos | Morning Bulletin". Archived from the original on 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ Queensland Rugby League 2008 Draw Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 17 Dec 2007
  5. ^ "Archived copy". www.qrl.com.au. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Logan Magpies keep fighting for survival". The Courier Mail. [dead link]
  7. ^ "2008 QLD Cup Grand Final Souths Logan 24 v Ipswich 18". YouTube. 31 January 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.