Central Queensland were held to a 28-28 draw by Ipswich in a tight Hostplus Cup Round 9 contest at Aurizon Stadium, after the Jets produced a late fightback to deny the Capras a home win.
The Capras led 22-14 at half-time and pushed the margin to 12 points early in the second half, but Ipswich finished strongly through Lachlan Ilias, who kicked a 72nd-minute penalty goal before scoring and converting in the final stages to level the match.
Central Queensland made the early running when Valentine Richard crossed in the sixth minute, with Trey Brown converting to give the home side a 6-0 lead.
Ipswich responded while Braydon Guyan was in the sin bin, with Jaylan De Groot scoring in the 12th minute before Corey Ross crossed three minutes later. Neither try was converted, but the quick double gave the Jets an 8-6 advantage.
The Capras regained control through a strong middle period of the first half. Malachi Dumas crossed in the 19th minute to put Central Queensland back in front, before Rodrick Tai scored in the 25th minute. Brown converted Tai’s try to extend the lead to 16-8.
Ipswich hit back through Jayden Wright in the 32nd minute, with Ilias converting to bring the Jets within two points, but the Capras landed the final blow of the half. Tane Kiriona scored in the 37th minute and Brown added the extras, sending Central Queensland into the break ahead 22-14.
The Capras struck again early in the second half when Cooper Marshall crossed in the 42nd minute, pushing the lead to 26-14. The conversion was missed, keeping the margin at 12 points.
The Jets cut the margin when Moses Mbye scored in the 58th minute and Ilias converted, narrowing the score to 26-20. Brown answered with a penalty goal in the 63rd minute, giving Central Queensland a 28-20 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining.
That margin did not hold. Ilias kicked a penalty goal in the 72nd minute, then scored in the 74th minute and converted his own try a minute later to lock the match at 28-28.
The final minutes were tense, with Ipswich producing a late linebreak through Tony Francis, but neither side found a final scoring play.
Both teams scored five tries and finished with similar completion rates, with the Capras completing at 81 per cent and Ipswich at 82 per cent. The Jets had more possession, run metres, line breaks and tackle breaks, while Central Queensland made more tackles and forced three dropouts.
Brown finished with eight points from three conversions and a penalty goal, while also making a team-high 37 tackles. Nixon Putt led the Capras for run metres with 165, and Blake Moore had two try assists and two line break assists.
The result gave the Capras one competition point, but also left a missed opportunity after leading by eight points inside the final 20 minutes.
