Central Queensland Capras were beaten 18-14 by Northern Pride at Aurizon Stadium in Round 10 of the BMD Premiership, with a strong response to a difficult start ultimately falling short in a tight four-point contest.

Northern Pride put Central Queensland under immediate scoreboard pressure, scoring three unanswered tries inside the opening 23 minutes to establish a 12-0 advantage.

The Capras needed a response before the break and found one, producing their most important scoring period of the match to turn a 12-point deficit into a lead.

Tahnee-lea Holt started the comeback in the 28th minute, getting Central Queensland on the board and cutting the deficit to eight points. Five minutes later, Ihndara McLeod crossed for the Capras’ second try, with captain Mariah Denman converting to bring the margin back to 12-10.

Central Queensland’s recovery was complete in the 36th minute when Maycee Brown crossed for the Capras’ third try in eight minutes.

The score put the home side ahead 14-12 after Northern Pride had controlled the scoreboard through the opening 23 minutes. Central Queensland carried that two-point advantage into half-time, having answered the Pride’s three early tries with three of their own.

The flow of points stopped after the restart. Neither side added to the scoreboard through the opening 19 minutes of the second half, leaving the Capras protecting their narrow advantage as the contest moved towards its closing stages.

Northern Pride eventually broke through in the 59th minute. Hagiga Mosby crossed to put the visitors back in front before Tallara Bamblett converted, turning Central Queensland’s 14-12 advantage into an 18-14 deficit.

Those proved to be the only points of the second half.

Central Queensland was unable to produce another scoring response over the remaining 11 minutes, allowing the Pride to hold their four-point advantage through to full-time.

The result was shaped by two distinct scoring runs. Northern Pride established the early advantage with three unanswered tries, before Central Queensland responded with three of their own in an eight-minute burst to take a 14-12 lead into the break. The difference came after half-time, when Mosby’s converted try returned the Pride to the lead and ultimately decided the contest.

For the Capras, the first-half recovery gave them an opportunity after falling 12 points behind, but a scoreless second half left the door open for Northern Pride to turn the result back in their favour and leave Aurizon Stadium with an 18-14 win.