Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT FINAL Blues 0 0 0 0 0 0 Maroons 0 7 14 10 0 31
Game Statistics: Blues Maroons First Downs 12 18 Third Down Conversions 7 11 Third Downs 15 17 Third Down Percentage 46.7% 64.7% Fourth Down Conversions 0 1 Fourth Downs 1 1 Fourth Down Percentage 0.0% 100.0% Two Pt Conversions Made 0 0 Two Pt Conversions Attempted 0 0 Two Pt Conversion Percentage 0.0% 0.0% Offense Redzone Num 1 4 Offense Redzone TDs 0 2 Offense Redzone FGs 0 0 Offense Redzone Percentage 0.0% 50.0% Rushing Attempts 25 43 Rushing Yards 129 135 Rushing Average 5.2 3.1 Rushing TDs 0 1 Passing Yards 77 239 Passing Completions 12 15 Passing Attempts 30 23 Completion Percentage 40.0% 65.2% Passing Average 2.6 10.4 Passing TDs 0 3 Offensive Pass Interceptions 3 1 TOTAL OFFENSE 206 374 Defensive Pass Interceptions 1 3 Punt Return Yards 12 3 Kick Return Yards 120 22 Punts 5 3 Punt Avg 44.8 45.0 Fumbles 0 1 Fumbles Lost 0 0 Penalties 7 2 Penalty Yds 45 12 Turnovers 3 1 TIME OF POSSESSION 24:10 35:50
Match Report;
Brisbane Maroons prove way too strong for Sydney Blues ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brisbane,QLD- All season long the Sydney Blues have proven to be a tough, hard working team that had punched way above its own weight. Keepings games close and pushing opponents to the limit had been the signature of 2014. Then they ran into the Brisbane Maroons.
On this night at Suncorp Brisbane simply dominated in all areas. Key to the victory however was keeping superstar Quarterback Robbie Vaivai upright. "I thought the play of our Offensive Line tonight was the key. They get few mentions but the fact we gave up just one sack in the second half was the difference maker" said Coach Craig Barry.
Going into the game Sydney promised to rain pressure on Vaivai from the outside. They wanted to keep him in the pocket to stop his notorious running game and to sustain pressure to shut down the passing game. In the end Brisbane allowed none of that to happen.
The home side got on the board early and it was the dancing feet of Buddy Goodwin who did the damage. he retrieved an impossible third and forever and stepped in an out of blocks to convert the situation on a jet screen. He then backed that up to be on the end of a 14 yard Vaivai throw for the score.
A missed Sydney field goal then led to one of the few Brisbane mistakes on the night when good coverage from Eddie Jones stole a possible touchdown pass from Riley Cooper down the left hand side. Still Brisbane's defence was good enough to shut down the Sydney passing attack completely. In the end the Blues could only muster 77 yards through the air, not enough to worry the scoreboard.
The longer the game went the more Sydney wore down. Riley Cooper broke free from Joish Aston coverage and scored from 45 yards out. Then Goodwin took another screen 66 yards this time to make it 21-0. Matthew Wayne-Smith celebrated his first start for the club with a touchdown run allt he while Sydney broke down even more with Bodene Bernstrom throwing a couple of picks as he tried to desperately get them back into the contest.
Cade Joass kicked the final field goal extended the lead to a deserved 31-0 win. Injuries did mar the victory hwoever as Trent Brophy, Pat Gagai, Jay Dawney and Kingi Moore all left the game early for Brisbane.
Injury Report; MAR LB 53 T.Brophy Bruised shoulder 0-1 weeks Week 12 FB 26 P.Gagai Strained back 1-2 weeks Week 12 FS 37 J.Dawney Torn shoulder Season IR FS 28 K.Moore Dislocated shoulder 8-9 weeks Week 19
Individual Stats: Maroons PASSING CMP ATT YDS PCT YPA SACK TD INT LONG RATING Robert Vaivai 15 23 264 65 11.4 4 3 1 66 125.7
RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LONG TD FUM Matthew Wayne-Smith 24 65 2.7 12 1 0 Robert Vaivai 5 34 6.7 13 0 0 Brad Koina 7 24 3.4 6 0 0 Jack Vaivai 3 9 3.0 11 0 0 Patareki Gagai 2 2 1.0 2 0 1 Ronnie Masters 2 1 0.5 1 0 0
RECEIVING REC YDS AVG LONG TD DROP YAC Buddy Goodwin 4 122 30.5 66 2 0 132 Riley Cooper 5 83 16.5 45 1 0 4 Robert Woods 2 26 13.0 25 0 0 1 Michael Eisenhuth 2 18 9.0 13 0 0 4 Ronnie Masters 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 5 Matthew Wayne-Smith 1 5 5.0 5 0 0 11