Norths have a simple equation tomorrow – defeat the Clydesdales in Toowoomba and qualify for next weekend’s BMD Premiership finals series.
A season of ladder congestion has come down to a top-six shootout between the Devils and Clydesdales in the late afternoon at Glenholme Park.
The eighth-placed Sunshine Coast Falcons have a prayer. They need the Devils to win by a small margin and they must then thump Tweed Seagulls by at least 50 points on Sunday to overcome a negative points differential.
Otherwise, the Devils can take their brightest moment of the season if they topple the Clydesdales and return to the finals.
The Devils have four wins and a draw from 10 matches that have shown impressive moments for coach Tasha Davie.
The Devils are one of the few teams that don’t have access to players from NRLW squads to boost their teams.
Instead, Norths have offered up players to the NRLW – the club has taken pride in Portia Bourke (Wests Tigers) and Paris Pickering (Warriors) earning contracts mid-season – along with the frustration of injuries to the likes of exciting fullback Ashleigh Kelvin.
The BMD Premiership’s move to later in the season, to run concurrently with NRLW for the first time, has thrown up the unpredictable results expected in a growing competition.
The Devils charged into the new season with two consecutive wins before a narrow, late loss to Souths Logan in the third round.
Coach Davie has named the same 17 that drew with Tweed at Bishop Park last weekend.
The Devils scored four tries to three in the 16-all result that enabled the Clydesdales to leapfrog them into the top six.
The Clydesdales have won two of their last five matches to stay in the finals race.
Photo by Alan Drinnen