| Year: | 2016 |
| Competition: | Queensland Cup |
| Duration: | March 5 – September 25, 2016 |
| Teams: | 14 |
| Count: | 3rd |
| Mpcount: | 5th |
| Matches: | 167 |
| Points: | 8,020 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Darren Nicholls (258) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Jonathon Reuben (18) |
| Player Of The Year: | Josh Chudleigh (Courier Mail Medal) |
| Nextseason Year: | 2017 |
The 2016 Queensland Cup season was the 21st season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. The competition, known as the Intrust Super Cup due to sponsorship from Intrust Super, featured 14 teams playing a 29-week long season (including finals) from March to September.[1]
The Burleigh Bears won their third premiership after defeating the Burleigh Bears 26–16 in the Grand Final at Suncorp Stadium. Mackay Cutters' Josh Chudleigh was named the competition's Player of the Year, winning the Courier Mail Medal.[2] [3]
In 2016, the lineup of teams remained unchanged for the second consecutive year.
| 2016 Queensland Cup | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | |||||||||||
| 1 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 23 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 728 | 345 | +383 | 40 | |
| 2 | Burleigh Bears (P) | 23 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 680 | 497 | +183 | 39 | |
| 3 | Townsville Blackhawks | 23 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 694 | 403 | +291 | 37 | |
| 4 | Papua New Guinea Hunters | 23 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 541 | 421 | +120 | 34 | |
| 5 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 23 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 501 | 462 | +39 | 29 | |
| 6 | Easts Tigers | 23 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 563 | 520 | +43 | 28 | |
| 7 | Souths Logan Magpies | 23 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 587 | 590 | -3 | 28 | |
| 8 | Northern Pride | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 495 | +21 | 26 | |
| 9 | Ipswich Jets | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 562 | 555 | +7 | 26 | |
| 10 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 547 | 561 | -14 | 24 | |
| 11 | Norths Devils | 23 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 532 | 686 | -154 | 21 | |
| 12 | Central Queensland Capras | 23 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 440 | 756 | -316 | 17 | |
| 13 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | 23 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 393 | 728 | -335 | 16 | |
| 14 | Mackay Cutters | 23 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 468 | 733 | -265 | 13 | |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=10% | Date and Time (Local) | width=10% | Venue | ||||
| Elimination Finals | |||||||
| Townsville Blackhawks | 46 – 4 | Easts Tigers | 4 September 2016, 1:40pm | Jack Manski Oval | |||
| PNG Hunters | 12 – 18 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 4 September 2016, 3:00pm | National Football Stadium | |||
| Major / Minor Semi-final | |||||||
| Townsville Blackhawks | 10 – 18 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 10 September 2016, 4:00pm | Jack Manski Oval | |||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 24 – 40 | Burleigh Bears | 11 September 2016, 1:40pm | Dolphin Oval | |||
| Preliminary Final | |||||||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | 38 – 16 | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 18 September 2016, 2:30pm | Dolphin Oval | |||
| Grand Final | |||||||
| Burleigh Bears | 26 – 16 | Redcliffe Dolphins | 25 September 2016, 3:55pm | Suncorp Stadium | |||
| Burleigh Bears | Position | Redcliffe Dolphins | |
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| 2. Waka Wanahi | 24. Jonus Pearson | ||
| 3. Daniel Randall | |||
| 4. Connor Broadhurst | 4. Joseph Bradley | ||
| 5. Oliver Regan | 5. Curtis Johnston | ||
| 6. Zach Strasser | |||
| 7. Jamal Fogarty (c) | 7. Darren Nicholls | ||
| 8. Sam Anderson (c) | |||
| 9. Shane Pumipi | |||
| 10. Charlie Fainga'a | |||
| 11. Aaron Whitchurch | |||
| 12. Hayden Schwass | 12. Daniel Bridge | ||
| 13. Chris Gesch | |||
| 17. Louis Fanene | Bench | 15. Brandon Lee | |
| 20. Josh Ailaomai | Bench | 20. Taylor Brown | |
| Bench | 23. Tyson Cleal | ||
| 24. Jeff Lynch | Bench | 25. Christian Hazard | |
| Coach | Adam Mogg |
Burleigh returned to the finals for the first time in 11 years after finishing the regular season in 2nd. After their first week bye, they defeated Redcliffe 40–24 in the major semi final to qualify for their fifth Grand Final, their first since 2005. Redcliffe finished the regular season as minor premiers and qualified for the finals for the first time since 2012. After losing to Burleigh in the major semi final, they defeated the Sunshine Coast in the preliminary final and booked a spot in their 10th Grand Final, their third against Burleigh.
Burleigh got the scoring underway in the 12th minute when fullback Kurtis Rowe sliced through the Dolphins' defence and ran 35 metres to score. It took just four minutes for Redcliffe to hit back when winger Jonus Pearson scored following some slick offloading close to the line. In the 23rd minute, Rowe recorded his second try of the contest when he muscled his way over to extended Burleigh's lead to eight. A penalty goal converted from right in front pushed the Bears' lead to 10 before Redcliffe scored through Tyson Cleal to cut margin to four in the 33rd minute.
The Bears again scored the first points of the half, this time through centre Sami Sauiluma in the 49th minute. Halfback Jamal Fogarty converted the try from out wide to give Burleigh a 10-point lead. The Dolphins got back into the game in the 57th minute thanks to a try to halfback Darren Nicholls, as they trailed by just four points. In the 71st minute, the Bears sealed the win when five-eighth Cameron Cullen scored and gave his side an unassailable 10-point lead. The victory was Burleigh's third Grand Final triumph, making them the second most successful club in the competition. Cullen was awarded the Duncan Hall Medal for man of the match for his performance.[4] [5]
See also: 2016 NRL State Championship. After winning the Grand Final, the Burleigh Bears qualified for the NRL State Championship on NRL Grand Final day. They were defeated by the Illawarra Cutters, the New South Wales Cup premiers, 54–12.[6]
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of the season (including finals).[7]
| Pos | width=140 | Player | Team | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathon Reuben | Townsville Blackhawks | 20 | |
| Kurtis Rowe | Burleigh Bears | 20 | ||
| 3 | Ryley Jacks | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 19 | |
| 4 | Jonus Pearson | Redcliffe Dolphins | 16 | |
| Daniel Ogden | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 16 | ||
| 6 | Zach Strasser | Redcliffe Dolphins | 15 | |
| Mosese Pangai | Townsville Blackhawks | 15 | ||
| Delouise Hoeter | Townsville Blackhawks | 15 | ||
| 9 | Patrick Templeman | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 14 | |
| Justin Olam | PNG Hunters | 14 | ||
| Pos | width=140 | Player | Team | width=20 | T | width=20 | G | width=20 | FG | width=20 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darren Nicholls | Redcliffe Dolphins | 11 | 115 | - | 274 | |||||
| 2 | Jamal Fogarty | Burleigh Bears | 12 | 111 | - | 270 | |||||
| 3 | Khan Ahwang | Northern Pride | 13 | 77 | - | 206 | |||||
| 4 | Todd Murphy | Norths Devils | 12 | 69 | - | 186 | |||||
| 5 | Liam Taylor | Mackay Cutters | 12 | 58 | - | 164 | |||||
| 6 | Billy Walters | Easts Tigers | 8 | 58 | - | 148 | |||||
| 7 | Matt Seamark | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 0 | 63 | 1 | 127 | |||||
| 8 | Noel Zeming | PNG Hunters | 6 | 50 | - | 124 | |||||
| 9 | Kyle Laybutt | Townsville Blackhawks | 7 | 47 | - | 122 | |||||
| 10 | Joe Stimson | Sunshine Coast Falcons | 5 | 39 | - | 98 | |||||
