IPSWICH state league teams experienced the full force of road trip pressure in a dramatic weekend of sport.
The end result was one win out of five attempts.
The Ipswich Jets had a rare off performance in Cairns, losing to Northern Pride 20-14 last night.
The Queensland Cup rugby league loss had the Jets slipping from a shot at top spot to third.
“We were just well off the pace,” Jets centre Chris Walker said.
“The Pride weren’t exceptional.
“We were just below Jets standards.”
The Jets are looking to regain their winning form at home against Souths Logan next Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Ipswich Force men’s and women’s basketball teams also headed north for testing doubleheaders.
The men produced the only win from those four Queensland Basketball League clashes in Townsville and Cairns. But it was a ripper.
Force captain Zarryon Fereti nailed consecutive three-pointers in the closing seconds to send the match against Townsville into overtime.
The Force men rallied in a terrific performance to win 88-82.
However, that was to be the only win for the weekend.
The Force men lost their second game to Cairns 109-95.
“Even though we lost the second game, everyone was really happy,” Fereti said.
“We definitely turned the corner as a team.”
Like the Jets, the Force women had a rare disappointing weekend, losing to Townsville 89-67 and Cairns 78-69.
Both Force teams play South West at Ipswich stadium on Saturday night.
With character-building rugby league and basketball road trips out of the way, Ipswich’s three state league sides can refocus on their finals’ campaigns.
Full weekend wrap-up in tomorrow’s The Queensland Times. http://www.qt.com.au/news/road-trip-torment-for-jets-force-teams/2688533/