A Taine Tuaupiki masterclass has helped book the Warriors a spot in the New South Wales Cup Grand Final, while two absolute thrillers have settled who will face off in the Queensland Cup decider.

Meanwhile, Broncos star Selwyn Cobbo made his anticipated return from a hamstring injury for Wynnum Manly. While they suffered a two-point defeat the good news is that the 23-year-old got through unscathed and is available for Sunday’s NRL preliminary final.

All that and more in the latest Reserve Grade Wrap.

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Cleary Praises Panthers’ First Half | 03:16

QUEENSLAND CUP

Burleigh Bears will take on Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup Grand Final this weekend after escaping with two-point wins over the weekend.

The Bears — a Broncos affiliate side — won 18-16 over the Dolphins after a late charge in the final seven minutes and will be looking to make up for 2023’s heartbreaking grand final loss.

The Dolphins had a 16-6 lead until Burleigh came storming home. Fullback Creedence Toia scored in the 73rd minute with bench forward Takitau Mapapalangi backing it up three minutes later.

Mapapalangi’s try levelled the scores, but Josh Rogers’ conversion sealed the 18-16 result.

It was a real grind of a game with credit going to a number of forwards punching out big numbers in defence.

Dolphins hooker Jordan Plath — younger brother of Max, who made a mid-season switch from the Rabbitohs — finished with a game-high of 58 tackles with just one miss. Lock Sheldon Pitama punched out 38 tackles with just one miss too.

Meanwhile, the Bears’ veteran skipper Sam Coster stood up with 38 tackles — two misses — while Kurt De Luis proved damaging on both sides of the ball off the bench with the 29-year-old prop finishing with over 100 metres and 24 tackles.

Matt Koellner was unbreakable with 90 running metres and 23 tackles — no misses — while 23-year-old Adam Christensen was also impressive defensively with 35 tackles and no misses.

Norths Devils are chasing back-to-back premierships — a feat they also achieved in 2021 and 2022 — after making a fourth grand final in five years.

This preliminary final also went right down to the wire with a try in the 78th minute sealing an 18-16 win over Wynnum Manly.

Manase Kaho scored that matchwinner in the corner and also finished with 177 running metres, a linebreak, as well as seven tackle busts.

Fullback Matthew Milson left his mark on the match with a try assist, a linebreak and 177 running metres, while Sean O’Sullivan — who has been linked to the Bulldogs for 2026 — did well steering his side around the park. O’Sullivan set up a try, got a linebreak assist and ran over 104 metres. His goalkicking left a lot to be desired though with the 27-year-old only nailing one out of four attempts.

On the other side of the field it was heartbreak for Wynnum Manly, who fought to the death and came freakishly close in the final seconds when Cobbo chased a two-point field goal attempt from Jock Madden.

Cobbo was a very handy late addition to the line-up with the six-time Queensland Origin representative finishing with 17 runs for 123 metres, five tackle busts and 13 tackles — no misses. It was his first game since suffering a hamstring injury six weeks ago.

Madden — who is returning to the Wests Tigers next season — set up two tries, ran 82 metres and made 21 tackles, while his halves partner Liam Sutton was also busy with a try, a try assist, 108 metres and 31 tackles.

Ciraldo: “We ran into a Champion team” | 06:02

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NSW CUP

After claiming the minor premiership, the Warriors are now through to the NSW Cup Grand Final — although they had to do it the hard way.

With the NSW Cup being a top five finals series, the Warriors got the week off first before then playing the Dragons for a spot in the grand final. After losing 24-10, they took on the Eels over the weekend and delivered a 42-14 win to seal their place in the decider against the second-placed Dragons.

They were buoyed by the return of Tanah Boyd and Sam Healey, who played in the Warriors’ NRL final against the Panthers the week earlier. The pair made their presence known with Boyd steering the ship and Healey a running threat out of dummy-half and workhorse in defence.

But it was 26-year-old fullback Tuaupiki who stole the show with a try, three try assists, three linebreak assists, nine tackle busts and 198 running metres.

Moala Graham-Taufa scored two tries in seven minutes, while Setu Tu also got a double as well as seven tackle busts, two linebreaks and 121 running metres.

Five-eighth Luke Hanson was dangerous, scoring a try and setting up two more, while NSW Cup Player of the Year Kalani Going was his usual rock-solid self with 132 metres and 30 tackles — three misses.