Neil Cadigan, Tweed media
The Campbell Construction Company Tweed Heads Seagulls will go into Sunday’s season opener against Northern Pride at Piggabeen Sports Complex without inspirational skipper John Palavi.
It’s a big day for the club as the Seagulls enter 2020 as finalists from last year and also have the Gold Coast Airport women’s team playing in the curtain-raiser for the first time. They clash with Souths Logan Magpies in the first round of the inaugural BHP statewide premiership.
Prop Palavi (pictured), who won last year’s Col Hayes Trophy as ISC best and fairest player, will miss the men’s clash because of a two-match enforced on him for a shoulder charge in the trial match against Burleigh Bears last month. It was only a grade one charge but carry over points see him miss two games.
However, Ben Woolf’s side has good depth with Stuart Mason, Rory Lillis and Bayley Faull, who played several ISC games last year, joining newcomer Fabian Kiri (Redcliffe) and Harry Hughes, who missed much of last season with injury, chosen in the front row and bench in the preliminary side announced on Tuesday.
Several newcomers are in the Seagulls’ squad with the final line-up of 17 to be announced at the club’s season launch on Friday evening. They include Kiri, halfback Blake Goodman (North Sydney), middle forward Jamie Hill (CQ Capras) and Fetuli Talanoa, the talented 32-year-old outside back who has returned from Hull where he played 130 games – including two winning Challenge Cup finals at Wembley – after an eight-season stint with South Sydney (95 NRL appearances).
Woolf – who will also work as Queensland under-20s coach and part of Justin Holbrook’s Gold Coast Titans coaching staff in 2020 – is pleased with the preparation of his squad and confident it can repeat last season’s effort of making the finals. He believes the depth is there between some improving players from last year’s all-conquering under-18s Auswide Mal Meninga Cup and the under-20s Hastings Deering Colts finals squad and several newcomers to the Tweed.
Among the new breed are some interesting family lines. Ethan O’Neill is the son of former Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian Test back Julian O’Neill and Will Brimson, older brother of Titans fullback and Maroons squad member Alexander Brimson.
O’Neill has joined from the Sydney Roosters where he played under-20s last year while Brimson, 24, played in the NYC competition for the Broncos and ISC for Wynnum Manly before spending the two years taking a break from the game after being worried by persistent injuries.
“I’ve known Will for ages through Keebra Park (high school) and tried to get him here at the start of pre-season after he’d been overseas but he wasn’t sure,” said Woolf. “He agreed to come down and do an opposed session with us after Christmas and has stayed and he’s been really good in the trials. He could prove a pretty handy acquisition.”
Last year’s top tryscorer, utility back Talor Walters who has looked great during pre-season, may not start the season after having a double injury setback – a hernia and broken foot.
“It’s a pity; I haven’t seen Talor fitter or keener but he could miss the first couple of rounds and we won’t rush him. We have pretty good cover in the backs.”
This means that Lindon McGrady is likely to start the season at fullback where he performed well in the second half of 2019 with the Gulls retaining good depth in the halves with Luke Jurd, last year’s gun under-18s halfback Toby Sexton who is in the Titans’ full-time squad, Brimson and Goodman, a former a CQ Capras halfback who played for Norths Sydney last year in the NSW Canterbury Cup competition.
“We lack a bit of experience in some areas but have quite a bit of depth in other areas; we have got some young players who I think will show a lot of improvement during the season,” said Woolf.
“We’ve improved each trial, I think we’re going better each week at training. They are working on the areas we’ve been focussing on.
“The team is starting to play the style of footy we want to play this year. We got good minutes into everyone in the final trial against Burleigh where we spread the squad across two games.”
The Seagulls 2020 changes:
Gains: Fetuli Talanoa (Hull FC), Blake Goodman (North Sydney), Jamie Hill (Central Queensland Capras), Jack Glossop (Townsville Blackhawks), Fabien Kiri (Redcliffe Dolphins), Braden Robson (Wests Tigers), Jesse Cronin (Parramatta Eels), Ethan O’Neill (Sydney Roosters), Will Brimson.
Losses: Christian Hazard (Souths Logan Magpies), Jack Cook (Albi France), Kirk Murphy (Albi France), Kalani Going (Canberra).
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