With the final round matches and also the quarter finals played today, the Opens and 20 Years tournament began to get exciting, it already was but now gets even better!

The final round of pool matches sorted out the quarter final-ers from those that aren't.

Most sides were fairly aware of whether they would qualify or not when competition started, but there were several pools with a sport or two in the quarters still up for grabs and plenty of jostling for a better finishing position.

However, a better finishing position doesn't really mean anything, as you will soon find out when you read the Mens 20's summary.

MENS OPEN:
The Queensland Country Rustlers continued their dominance in pool A, in fact "I didn't know people could run that fast for that long" one ACT Mens Open player was heard to say when talking about the Rustlers.

The match of the day was no doubt the 5-5 draw between the Suns and the Mets, setting up a great finals series.

In Pool B the Sharks finished the round competition undefeated and headed into the quarter finals full of confidence.

The Scorpions also looked to have a shot at the title, with the Cobras and the Cyclones filling out the four in their pool.

The quarter finals saw the Sharks and Rustlers record easy wins over the Hornets and the Cyclones, while for the Cobras and Scorpions the wins were a little tighter.

The Scorpions 6-4 win over the Mets was simply a good match of Touch, with the rumours that no love would be lost between these two Sydney sides coming to nothing and good Touch being all there was to see.

Unfortunately for the Suns Mens Open, despite having a good set of round matches, they were unable to match the Cobras and bowed out 7-4.

Semi finals:
Rustlers v Scorpions
Sharks v Cobras

WOMENS OPEN:
The South Queensland Sharks and North Queensland Cyclones finished top of pool A, after the Rustlers upset the Cyclones in their final round match.

The news only got worse as the day went on for the Cyclones, who after starting so well lost that final round match and then lost their quarter final to the Barbarians.
The Barbarians qualified for their first semi final at an NTL after finishing third in their pool, led by Bo Dela Cruz, still not at 100% after her ankle injury in the first match.

The Mets and Cobras continued their good form, with the Mets going through to the quarter finals and recording a 10-2 win over the Hunter Western Hornets, while the Cobras only allowed the Rustlers to score once in their quarter final win.

The Barbarians will now face the red hot and defending Champions, the South Queensland Sharks, while the Barbarians will face the Sydney Mets, with Aussie sister combinations Kristy and Amanda Judd and Louise and Claire Winchester in great form.

Semi finals:
Sharks v Barbarians
Mets v Cobras

MIXED OPEN:
The Mixed Open semi finalists were literally guaranteed with one round to go in the Mixed competition.

The Sydney Mets, Scorpions, Brisbane Cobras and South Queensland Sharks had sealed their spots with room to spare before the final day of competition for 2005.

The Mixed competition on day three was certainly exciting however, with draws being the order of the day.

It could well be said that the Brisbane Cobras either don't know how to win or they just never lose, because they've had four draws this tournament, against the Mets, Sharks, Rustlers and Southern Suns, showing just how close the competition at the top of the Mixed ladder is.

Some of the other matches of the day in the Mixed competition were the Barbarians 8-5 win over the Cyclones and the 3-3 draw between the Rustlers and the Barbarians.

The improvement shown by the Barbarians has been good and with the Womens Open qualifying for the semi final, their future is looking bright.

The Mixed competition overall has certainly been solid, with very few whitewashed matches and all teams putting in good performances at different times.

Semi finals:
Mets v Scorpions
Cobras v Sharks

MENS 20 YEARS:
The Mens 20 Years finished their round matches early in day three.

The Southern Suns continued on their merry way in pool A, qualifying for the quarter finals undefeated before easily disposing of the Crusaders 10-1 in the quarter final. It's looking like a mammoth effort will be needed to stop these Suns boys from taking home the title.

The Cobras, Sharks and Eagles completed the four from pool A for the quarter finals, the Eagles scraping in after a final round win over the Hunter Western Hornets.

For those who have seen the Eagles play this week, you'll know they started the tournament slowly, not really showing the Touch world what they have. That was, until the quarter finals...

Pool B was dominated by the Mets and the Rustlers, both sides looking capable of challenging the Suns.

The Mets finished the round matches with an 18-0 walloping of the Rebels, Scott Buckley scoring 5 touchdowns and Dean Springfield scoring 4.

Despite the good form of both the Rustlers and Mets, the Rustlers were sent packing in their quarter final against the Sharks, and by far the biggest upset of the tournament was at the hand and speedy feet of the local Northern Eagles.

The Eagles boys, led by Aussie rep Ricky Morris, were just too fast and agile, beating the Mets with pure speed and booking themselves a semi final birth against the Brisbane City Cobras.

Semi finals:
Northern Eagles v Brisbane City Cobras
Southern Suns v South Queensland Sharks

WOMENS 20 YEARS:
The Womens 20 Years final round and quarter finals were also played on day three, with the resulting semi final schedule looking remarkably similar to the Mens 20 Years, if not identical.

The South Queensland Sharks continue to dominate Pool A, while the Northern Eagles held off the Southern Suns to finish top of their pool.

In the battle of the bottom sides from pool A, the Crusaders scored their first win for the tournament, over the struggling Sydney Scorpions 5-2.

Pool B came down to the last round for the ACT to grab themselves the final quarter final position, only to then come out and abosilurely shock the South Queensland Sharks when they crossed over for the match.

On paper the Sharks should have massacred the ACT, but the ACT lifted, finally showing the form that many believed they had, taking the match into a drop off.

The Sharks survived, but not until after several scare and a dubious refereeing decision allowed the touchdown that sealed the quarter final win.

The Northern Eagles easily won through to the semis, a 12-0 win over the Cyclones sending the excited locals through to a semi against Brisbane Cobras. No doubt they will have a lot of local support out at 8:30am tomorrow morning!

Semi finals:
Northern Eagles v Brisbane City Cobras
Southern Suns v South Queensland Sharks

By Rachel Moyle, media@austouch.com.au