Round 17 of the Hostplus Cup brought the second-placed Central Queensland Capras to Mackay on Saturday, a ground where the visitors had lost nine of their last 10 fixtures.
The Cutters were looking to extend their home ground record over the Capras in front of a strong Mackay crowd with both teams looking dangerous in the opening minutes of the game.
A shift to the left looked ominous for the Capras before Cutters winger Jake Riley read the play perfectly, intercepting a pass before it could reach the wing and running 80 metres to put the Cutters on the counterattack.
Some simple ball movement to the left brought on an overlap with winger Laitia Moceidreke crossing in the corner untouched in the 12th minute.
Seven minutes later, another shift to the left and a storming run from second rower Kane Bradley saw him evade three tackles to score in the 19th minute.
The Cutters showed they can play both sides of the field, going right off a mid-field scrum for Jake Riley to score in the corner with three minutes left in the first half.
A penalty goal on the stroke of half-time finished a near-perfect half for the Cutters, taking the home side to a 16-0 lead at half-time.
Eight minutes into the first half, Cutters centre Blake Paskins found space out of dummy half, busting the Capras open before finding fullback Kyle Krisanski-Kennedy who scored untouched.
The Capras finally put numbers on the board in the 56th minute through Radean Robinson and again five minutes later through Jonus Pearson.
The comeback wasn’t to be as Moceidreke scored his second for the night in the 70th minute followed shortly by front rower Jayden Morgan crossing in the 74th.
A scrappy consolation try for Capras winger Brandon Roberts in the 79th minute brought the full-time score to 34-16, capping off a huge upset for the 11th-placed Cutters.
The Cutters are back at BB Print Stadium on Sunday where they will welcome the Burleigh Bears for Women in League Round.
The Cutters defeated the Capras in a strong display at home. Photos supplied: Mackay Cutters
Future stars of Souths and Magpies faced off at half-time. Photos supplied: Rugby League Mackay & District
