By Dan Elsom

Brothers continued their strong run to the minor premiership in round 13, while Norths defended High Courtney Oval to hold onto second place.

Wests proved too strong for GPS, while University of Queensland of University pulled away in second half to finish on top at Sunnybank.

Brothers 46-35 Bond University 

The competition leaders dispatched Bond University at The Canal in a replay of the 2025 Grand Final, racing out to an early lead which they held all game.

Brothers drew first blood in round 13 with their unstoppable rolling maul adding another to Dom Fraser’s season tally.

Momentum stayed with the visitors, as Kaelan Grafton and Benn Dalle Cort both crossed inside the first 30 minutes.

Bond managed their only score of the half from close range after their maul collapsed close to the line, but the Brethern maintained the upper hand leading into the break.

Brothers were awarded a penalty try when the Bull Sharks collapsed their maul, leaving the home side one man short and trailing 22-7 at half time.

The visitors continued their dominance in the early stages of the second half, with Grafton picking up two quick tries to secure a hat-trick with 30 minutes still to play.

And when Fraser crossed for his double to make it 41-7 a few minutes later, the scoreline threatened to blow out in the later stages of the game.

But Bond mounted somewhat of a comeback, as Willy Rua scored the first of four tries in the final 20 minutes.

It ultimately came too late for the home side to recover from Brothers’ early dominance, taking just one bonus point into the next round.

The loss sees Bond University drop down the ladder to sixth position, a point behind Easts in fourth.

Brothers continue to soar at the top of the table, maintaining their 11-point lead in first place.  

Wests 36-15 GPS

Wests came back from a first-half deficit to secure five points at Yoku Road, which saw them force their way into finals contention.

It took just one minute for the visitors to cross the paint in round 13, as Ben Navosailagi finished a slick attacking set with a kick through to himself in the far corner.

And GPS suffered a second blow in the process, losing Aisea Nawai to the sin bin for a tip tackle on Edan Zaupa.

Nawai made up for his error midway through the half as he crossed for the Gallopers first, before a long-range effort from Oskar Enasio made it 10-5 to the home side at drinks.

But the tide changed quickly in the second half, kicked off by Harry Raff’s own long-range effort from halfway.

Then Garlen Peace was shown a yellow card when play restarted, which made way for a second Bulldogs try in five minutes.

The visitors’ replacements added another two scores, before Nawai fielded a cross-field kick from Bryce Hegarty to add a consolation score and his second for the day.

The win sees Wests push into third place, just two points behind Norths in second. GPS remain in eighth, with a late surge towards the finals looking unlikely at this stage of the season.

Norths 45-28 Souths 

Norths continued their fine form heading into the business end of the season, finishing too strong for Souths despite an arm-wrestle first half.

The Magpies had a nightmare start at Hugh Courtney Oval, conceding a penalty try and two yellow cards within the first five minutes to put them heavily on the back foot.

The Eagles capitalised on the overlap through Duncan Munn in the right corner to make it 14-0, but Souths showed their fight once they returned to full strength.

Hooker Unga Wolske crossed first from close range, followed by Xavier Rubens after a piece of pure brilliance from fullback Konrad Tu’ua.

Deep in his own half, there was nothing on when Tu’ua put up a mid-field bomb, only to catch it on the half-volley with his left boot and chip it over Harry Langbridge’s head, regathering again  to put Rubens into space.

A try to Alex Flanagan Smith and a penalty try to Souths rounded out the half, and they headed into the sheds all tied up at 21-all.

The home side proved too strong in the second half, with tries to Langbridge and Ryan Heaton setting the tone for the remainder of the match.

The visitors managed just one try in the final 40, before Langbridge secured his double to make it eight wins so far this season for Norths.

The Eagles remain in second place with a sizeable gap still before they challenge top spot, while Souths take just one bonus point home and remain in seventh.

University of Queensland 47-26 Sunnybank

University of Queensland ran away with victory at Biggs Field despite a hat-trick for powerful Sunnybank lock Jeneiro Wakeham, giving the Red Heavies a genuine shot at finals footy.

First points of the day went to Wakeham, as the towering second rower forced his way over from the base of the ruck.

UQ responded a short time later through Zander Esterhuizen who beat two to cross in the far corner, followed by Lachlan Pheely with a pick and go under the posts.

Ethan McFarland finished off a 50-metre effort almost immediately at the restart, then Wakeham crossed for his second of the day to round out the half with the home side trailing by seven.

Wakeham continued his fine form into the second half, showing his raw power in carrying four defenders over the line to touch down for his hat-trick in the far corner.

The Red Heavies responded immediately though through Tom Howard, but it was McFarland who scored the try of the day.

Fielding the restart after Howard’s score, the outside centre bumped off seven would-be tacklers and outpaced the rest in his 80-metre sprint to the line for his second of the day.

Sunnybank crossed once more to secure their bonus point, but another two tries sealed the win for the visitors.

The result sees University of Queensland climb into fifth place, equal on points with Easts in fourth.

A frustrating season for the Dragons continues as they remain in last place despite impressing across the park in round 13.