By Tim Mosey

Round 4 Scores: Norths 31-28 Wests; UQ 56-17 Sunnybank; Souths 29-19 Brothers; Easts 24-14 Bond.

Field Wide Open After First Month

After four rounds Souths are the only undefeated Premier Rugby team. One win separates GPS in fourth and Norths in eigth place, while Brothers sit alone in ninth. It seems the competition for the top four will be more contested than ever before after UQ and Brothers, who have dominated the opening rounds in recent years, stuttered early this season.

Norths Attack

Norths know where to attack and coach Nick Fogarty understands how to utilise his strike power. Coming back from 18-7 down early in the match, Norths rallied with a second half blitz that all but rubbed out any chance Wests had of winning this fixture. Led by the hard running and ball distributing centre pairing of Duncan Paia’aua and Connor Chittenden, the Eagles fractured Wests out wide. Norths have the required size in their front row to keep their scrum intact and with young No.10 Nick Jooste able to convert points from anywhere in the opposition half, Norths look like a top four side this season.

University Onslaught

UQ’s first half onslaught was too much for Sunnybank to overcome at Oldmac Oval. The Students’ superior speed and ability to move the ball wide from an accelerated ruck was too much for Sunnybank’s large pack. Head Coach Damon Virtue will be looking forward to next week’s away clash with Easts, who triumphed 24-14 over Bond University at Robina.

Souths’ Experience and Size Prevail

Souths were just too big and experienced for Brothers and skipped out to a 24-0 lead against a rattled Brothers outfit at Chipsy Wood Oval. While Brothers were led by former Reds flyhalf Dallan Murphy, they couldn’t match the physicality of Souths, who are moving forwards in the competition swiftly. They will be tough to beat particularly if they can maintain their halves pairing of Richard Kingi and Quade Cooper linking to the outside combination of young speedster Jayden Ngamanu and ex-Sunnybank product Jason Hofmeyr.

Premier Rugby Well Supported by Professional Players

At quick glance there were 20 plus players either currently contracted or ex-professionals from Australia and abroad suiting up in Premier Rugby over the weekend. Andrew Ready at Easts, Alex Gibbon at Brothers, Sef Fa’agase at UQ and welcome backline addition Brett Gillespie at Wests were but a few of the players representing their clubs with distinction over the weekend.