Roar Guru
Queensland Country have booked their spot in the 2017 NRC Grand Final with a 57-21 drubbing of the Fijian Drua.
Final score
Queensland Country 57
Fijian Drua 21
With one spot locked up, the Fijian Drua travel to Toowoomba to tackle Queensland Country for the remaining spot in the NRC Grand Final for 2017. Join The Roar for a live blog from 3pm AEDT.
Queensland Country will count themselves unlucky not to be minor premiers, a last gasp loss to the Perth Spirit hurt them last week – but they’ll still feel supremely confident of a win over the Drua, especially after knocking them off in Suva not a fortnight ago.
They welcome back key players Eto Nabuli and Izaia Perese from Barbarians and Wallabies duty respectively, and have a key combination in James Tuttle and Hamish Stewart controlling proceedings at 9 and 10.
For the Drua, they are without seven starters, currently on end of season national duties. John Stewart has led the team superbly this season, and they have a big back row that can really test QLD’s defence one out.
Where the game will be won
Ultimately, it’s whether or not Fiji can control things defensively. They have no trouble scoring points, but have found their defensive tenacity wanting, especially in recent weeks. QLD Country have the firepower to expose this, if they play clean, consistent football.
Prediction
QLD Country to cap off a ripper season by booking a spot in the big dance.
Country by 16
Join The Roar for live scores of the match, starting from 3pm AEDT.