Saavanah Bourke
Fans were treated to a BMD Premiership blockbuster at Tugun RLFC on Saturday, with the Wynnum Manly Seagulls piping Tweed 20-16 in a hard-fought contest.
The battle of the birds ended in heartbreak for Tweed, with Wynnum Manly upsetting the home side in the final 30 seconds of the game.
It was the visitors who crossed first, with forward Shaylee Bent breaking through the Seagulls defence line in the 16th minute.
But the Seagulls wasted no time to hit back, halfback Tarryn Aiken crossed for her first 4 pointer just two minutes later.
The half showed her class again not long after, picking up a double and helping the Seagulls with another 4 points.
A successful conversion from Zara Canfield gave the Seagulls plenty of confidence heading into the sheds with a 6 point lead at half time.
But Wynnum Manly came out firing in the second half, with centre Felila Kia making her way over the line and keeping her team in the contest.
The Seagulls weren’t going down without a fight, centre Jamie Chapman hit back keeping Tweed in front.
A penalty goal kicked by Zara Canfield put the Seagulls further ahead with 20 minutes remaining.
But the game was far from over, forward Essay Banu kept Wynnum Manly in the hunt when she crossed in the final 10 minutes of play.
With a successful conversion Tweed were still in front by 2, but the Wynnum Manly forward crossed again for her second try of the game, upsetting Tweed in the final 30 seconds of play and securing the hard-fought victory for Wynnum Manly.
It’s back to the drawing board for Tweed, Saturday’s result marks their fourth consecutive loss.
Tweed coach Spencer Taplin said he was disappointed by the result, but was more upset for his side.
“We were 30 seconds away from ending our run with losses and I said to the girls all that could have been was two tackles,” Taplin said.
“I felt for them, some of them are working really hard, but some of them need to be a little more honest in their efforts.
“We were the better side on the day but we just didn’t ice our opportunities.”
Despite being on the bottom of the ladder, finals football isn’t completely out of the question.
“Mathematically we still have a chance if we can win our last two games, but I’m more focused on performance more than anything.”
The Seagulls face the unbeaten and top of the table CQ Capras next weekend in Rockhampton, before meeting Souths Logan in Brisbane for the final round of the regular season.
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