New franchise Gold Coast have been shot down in a blaze of glory by the Townsville Crocodiles in a thrilling 109-107 point win in round two of the Queensland Cup in Cairns.

A John Rillie-led fightback in the final quarter inspired the Crocs to erase a 12-point deficit and steal the game in the final minutes to set up a thrilling showdown with the Cairns Taipans on Saturday night.

The Crocs entered the game undermanned with centre Greg Vanderjagt and swingman Brad Sheridan joined on the sideline by key recruit Ben Pepper who succumbed to concussion sustained in Wednesday night's game against the Brisbane Bullets.

And Townsville's woes were further compounded by the discipline of import Galen Young, who had four fouls in the first half and spent the majority of the third quarter on the bench.

Rillie was lethal for the Crocs with a game-high 32 points and young recruit and Townsville Heat star Michael Cedar was again outstanding in offence on his way to 24 points for the game which Crocs CEO Ian Smythe described as a `get out of jail card' for the Crocs.

"It was a physical game and we were pretty depleted ... the guys really hung tough and it was a really good win tonight that showed some resilience," Crocs coach Trevor Gleeson said.

"Rosell was a workhorse again, we were down one big ... and the Gold Coast team were really big and physical but we showed a lot of determination."

"Mick Cedar was great tonight, he showed a lot of composure, he was really aggressive."

The win sets up a showdown with Cairns on Saturday which will likely determine the winner of the cup which is being held for the first time ever this year. And in a boost for the Crocs, Pepper is set to return for the key clash.

"We'll just enjoy (this win) for the moment and then we'll get back on and get ready for Saturday night's game," Gleeson said.

"Hopefully we can get Ben fit and back on court and give those guys a bit of a shake."

Townsville Crocodiles 109 (John Rillie 32, Michael Cedar 24, Rosell Ellis 17)
Gold Coast Blaze 102 (James Harvey 27, Juaquin Hawkins 18, Jason Crowe 18)

Photo: Gordon Greaves