Central Queensland Capras were beaten 34-10 by Western Clydesdales at Aurizon Stadium, Rockhampton, in Round 13 of the Hostplus Cup, with the visitors turning a two-point half-time lead into a convincing result through a strong second half.
The Capras had to absorb early pressure after Blake Anders was sin binned and placed on report inside the opening minute, but they still struck first. Connor Guley crossed in the fourth minute and Trey Brown converted to give Central Queensland a 6-0 lead despite being a player down.
Western Clydesdales hit back quickly through Christopher Woodbridge, who scored in the seventh minute and converted his own try to level the scores at 6-all. Stanford Talita then crossed in the 12th minute, with Woodbridge again adding the extras to put the visitors ahead 12-6.
Central Queensland stayed in the contest through the rest of the first half and found a response before the break. Malachi Dumas scored in the 32nd minute after producing one of the Capras’ three line breaks, cutting the margin to two points. Blake Moore missed the conversion, leaving the Clydesdales in front 12-10 at half-time.
That narrow margin did not hold for long after the restart.
Woodbridge scored his second try in the 46th minute and converted to extend Western Clydesdales’ lead to 18-10. Five minutes later, Joel Hughes crossed after a line break to push the visitors further clear at 22-10.
That early second-half burst proved the decisive period. The Capras had stayed within reach through the opening 40 minutes, but the Clydesdales’ two tries after half-time changed the shape of the match and forced Central Queensland to chase.
The home side were given a chance to apply pressure when Luke Rouland was sin binned in the 65th minute for a professional foul. Instead, Western Clydesdales absorbed that period and found the next points, with Flynn Kaiser crossing in the 68th minute. Woodbridge converted to stretch the lead to 28-10.
Darcy Clifton then finished the scoring in the 78th minute after a line break, with Woodbridge converting again to seal the 34-10 result.
The numbers reflected the Clydesdales’ control after the break. They finished with 55 per cent possession, 1,487 run metres to Central Queensland’s 1,159, five line breaks to three, and 45 tackle breaks to 29. The Capras made 304 tackles and missed 45, underlining the defensive load they carried across the afternoon.
For Central Queensland, Guley and Dumas scored the tries, with Brown kicking one conversion. Joshua Nilon led the Capras with 41 tackles, Khaiya Waiembi topped the side for run metres with 151, and Dumas finished with two line breaks. Woodbridge was the main scorer for Western Clydesdales with two tries and five conversions.
The result leaves the Capras to regroup after a match that was still within reach at half-time, before Western Clydesdales took control in the second half.
