The Auckland Nines shot clock has denied Brisbane a semi-finals date with Melbourne, after they were dramatically beaten 16-15 in the quarter-finals by the Sydney Roosters.
After trailing 16-0 at half-time, Brisbane’s tournament bounced back to life when forward Sam Lavea carried over a number of Roosters defenders to narrow the margin to one with a minute to play.
Jordan Kahu nailed the conversion, however a slow preparation saw him kick the ball after the 30-second clock expired, and the two points were denied.
“I just thought I got it away in time but obviously not,” Kahu said.
“It’s pretty tough. You’re used to a couple of minutes when you kick and the 30 seconds starts as soon as you score.
“It’s pretty short.”
It was enough to allow the Roosters to join the Storm, Penrith and Parramatta in the final four.
Melbourne put the cleaners through North Queensland, scoring five times in their 25-12 over a Cowboys outfit considered the favourites for the tournament.
Gideon Gela-Mosby provided one of the few highlights for the favourites, scoring the try of the tournament as he managed to kick while tripping over and fumbling the ball, before regathering his feet to chase and score the game’s opening try.
Meanwhile Parramatta are two wins away from reclaiming the Nines trophy, after last year’s prize was stripped from them as part of the salary cap scandal.
But they’ll have to do it without Corey Norman, who has been ruled out of the semi-final clash with Penrith and the rest of the tournament with a minor hamstring injury.
He was hurt in their 14-0 win over the Gold Coast in the quarter-finals, the second time they had kept a team scoreless in four games this weekend.
The Panthers didn’t have it quite so easy against Manly after an extra-time golden try from Penrith youngster Tyrone May secured their spot in the semis.
After finishing regular time at 12-12, Manly winger Jorge Taufua spilled the ball in the first tackle of extra time, before May capitalised to seal the win and continue Penrith’s unbeaten weekend.
