Tesi Niu double steers Norths Devils to third QCup premiership in four seasons
Updated . First published at
Tesi Niu is without an NRL contract for next season, but had a starring role in the Norths Devils' Queensland Cup grand final win over Redcliffe.
Niu, who made 24 NRL appearances for the Dolphins over the past two seasons, scored the first two Devils tries in their 34-20 win at Dolphins Stadium.
The Devils' triumph represents the second biggest year-on-year turnaround in QCup history, having finished 11th last season.
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Tesi Niu celebrating the Norths Devils Queensland Cup grand final triumph over the Redcliffe Dolphins. FOX Sports
But they're a club who know how to win, having done so in three of the past four seasons.
Halfback Jack Ahearn said wholesale changes the club had made at the start of the season were paying dividends.
"It's an amazing achievement," he said on Fox Sports' coverage.
"We had a pretty young squad this season compared to the last few years, so to do it with such a young goup of boys is very exciting and very pleasing. I'm so happy for them.
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Valynce Te Whare reacts after the Dolphins Queensland Cup grand final loss to the Norths Devils. FOX Sports
A career firefighter, Ahearn himself was even planning to retire at the end of last season but answered the call to lead the young team.
"Started fresh, a lot of new blood came in, a lot of young fellas really drove that energy ... it's a very exciting team to be a part of," he said.
"It's been an unbelievable journey for me. I might have to announce my retirement again just so I can miss pre-season next year."
The Devils led 18-10 at half time, and scored the opening try of the second half only minutes after the resumption.
But the game was right on when the Dolphins scored the next two tries, but two missed conversions meant they still trailed 24-20 with 20 minutes still to play.
QCup leading try-scorer Manase Kaho was next to score for Norths, before Campbell Duffy scored what would eventually be the match-winner in the 70th minute.
Jordan Lipp was perfect with the boot, nailing five from six.
"We knew they were going to come, we knew they were a bit broken but that didn't mean anything," Ahearn said of the Dolphins.
"We knew it was going to be a dogfight, but we just had to weather that storm and stick to the processes we'd used all year."
