By Michael Atkinson

With just three rounds left to play in the 2016 Queensland Premier Rugby competition, University of Queensland have already secured the Minor Premiership.

The Red Heavies have won an incredible 13 straight games, their sole defeat coming in round one at the hands of defending premiers, Souths.

Despite having not lost since the first round, head coach Mick Heenan and his team are not concerned about the pressure.

“I don’t buy into the cliché ‘the loss we needed to have’. We want to win and if we play to our ability, we can continue to do so.”

“In 2014 and 2010 (two of Uni’s three premierships in the past five years) we had long winning streaks heading in to the finals and it didn’t affect us.” Said Heenan.

UQ lead the competition in both most points scored and least points conceded; their strike power in attack is matched only by their ability to grind out a win when the pressure is on.

Against Norths in round 15, a team they beat by 42 points in their first encounter this year, UQ twice opened up a two-try lead only for the Eagles to score and reduce the margin to one score. UQ found the will to win, as all good teams do, and their sharp-shooting kicker, winger Tom Pincus, booted them home for win number 13.

Attempting to run down the rampant competition leaders are perennial contenders Brothers, and last year’s premiers, Souths. The Brethren have enjoyed a strong season but have come undone twice to UQ and twice to GPS. They enjoy playing an expansive, attacking style, securing 11 four-try bonus points from their 13 games.

Brothers Coach, Carl Marshall, lauded his team’s attacking style.

“We have a lot of attacking flair. It brings some risks, but plenty of rewards also which is evidenced by our bonus points.” Marshall pointed out.

On the wing for Brothers is one of the most potent finishers in Premier Rugby in Mitch Felsman. The former Australian Sevens flyer has bagged 19 tries in 2016, including four tries in one game against Sunnybank in round four.

Sitting just behind Brothers on the ladder are defending premiers Souths, positioned perfectly for another assault on the finals. With a backline almost as big as their forward pack, the Magpies are a scary prospect for opposition teams.

Outside centre Levi Aumua has returned from a stint playing for Bordeaux Begles in the French Top 14, and is a wrecking ball at 112kgs. With a blend of size, power and quick feet, Aumua can turn a half opportunity into points before the defence have even braced for impact.

The one area that Souths have struggled with this season is inconsistency in troops in the backline. Without fielding the same backline in consecutive weeks at any stage in 2016, head coach Brett Picone says he is proud of ability of lower grade players to step up.

“We’ve had to rely on a lot of players and I’m really happy with the depth we’ve built at the club. It’s a feature of a strong club when you’ve got a long line of quality players and you don’t lose any sleep over having to put them in at the top grade.”

Picone is also confident that the experience of last year’s run to the premiership has his team primed to repeat the effort in 2016.

“We’ve developed a winning habit. That’s a big part of being successful, knowing how to win. We’ve been able to do it when we’ve played well, but more impressively, we’ve still managed to win even when we haven’t played well,” Picone said

Sunnybank, in fourth, are in a tight tussle with fifth, Bond University, and sixth placed GPS for the final spot in the top four. The Dragons have been typically strong for the majority of the year but they have dropped games at times when they were expected to win.

With a typical fire-breathing forward pack and lightning fast backs, Sunnybank have remained in the top four throughout the season. However, some disappointing results in recent weeks including losses to Easts last week and Bond Uni three weeks ago, have put them in danger of being pipped at the post.

Bond are just one point behind Sunnybank and have enjoyed a fruitful month, winning five of their last seven. It’s a contrast to their 2015, as head coach Sean Hedger explained, where they started the year strong and fell away.

“This year we are coming home with a wet sail” Hedger chuffed.

“But in saying that, this competition has been really tight all year. From first place to ninth, any team can knock another off each week. The next few weeks are dangerous with the bottom placed teams more than capable of ruining someone’s run to the finals.”

Bond have had a back-and-forth battle with GPS for fifth spot throughout the year. The Gallopers have put in some impressive performances throughout the season, beating three of the top four teams, but they have been guilty of slipping in games they were expected to win comfortably.

“When we’re at the top of our game I believe we’re one of the hardest teams to stop” declared GPS coach Todd Dammers.

“We’ve been inconsistent which has been frustrating. But, the bottom teams aren’t traditional bottoms teams. They’re good” said Dammers, echoing the thoughts of Hedger.

Norths are one of those “bottom” teams and they have been a much-improved performer. Head coach Nick Fogarty has the Eagles sitting on five wins in 2016, just two less than fourth placed Sunnybank.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved this year. We’ve been really competitive this season and I’ve seen some really pleasing development in a number of individuals” said Fogarty.

One team Norths have enjoyed solid success over this year, is 2015 Minor Premiers, Easts. On the back of a tough run with injuries, the Tigers have had a disappointing campaign in 2016.

The men from Bottomley Park have only enjoyed three wins this year, but two of those wins have come against opponents higher than them on the ladder.

After spending most of the year in “team rehab”, star NRC centre combination Matt Gordon and Toby White have reformed in recent weeks and the Tigers have already claimed the major scalp of Sunnybank last weekend.

With a squad capable of winning the competition, when they’re fit, Easts can rustle a few feathers over the remaining three weeks.

That’s the goal for bottom placed Wests, as they look to finish a disappointing year on a high.

“For us, it’s been a disappointing year because we’ve lost a lot of close games, games where we’ve lead at half time and been run down” said head coach Pat Byron.

“The competition has been a lot tighter this year and the gap between the top four or five teams and the bottom half has definitely closed.”

It’s a feature of the competition that has thrilled fans all year. With the Queensland Rugby Union live streaming at least one game per round the Premier rugby competition has reached a wider audience.

With Easts playing GPS this weekend, Wests playing Souths and Norths taking on Sunnybank, some of the bottom-placed teams can cause upsets essentially breaking the hopes of a finals appearance for any of the teams from second to sixth.

UQ, have the bye this week and can coast in to August with the number one spot locked up. However, Heenan will make sure his side don’t kid themselves into thinking the premiership is theirs to lose.

“We won’t rest on our laurels. Any team who makes the top four is capable of winning the comp” said Heenan.

There are six teams still in the hunt for the final four spots, every one of them firmly of the belief that they can be the last one standing on the first Sunday in August.