The experience of the Burleigh Bears proved too strong for a spirited Ben Campbell Group Tweed Heads Seagulls outfit at Piggabeen Sports Complex yesterday.
The Seagulls were without in-form centre Brayden McGrady who was suspended for a dangerous throw in the second-round clash against Souths Logan but they welcomed captain and lock Cheyne Whitelaw for the first time after he returned from injury.
Still the difference in top level experience between the two teams was obvious. The Bears boasted 153 games of NRL experience to just one for Tweed Heads (Lamar Liolevave).
Played on a sodden field, the Bears powered their way to an imposing 22-0 score at half-time – and did enough in the second to hold out a fightback from Tweed Heads to claim the 32-12 win, after the Gulls were in the match at 22-12 with 23 minutes remaining
The final score may make it look like they did it easy – but key periods of the second half would have concerned Burleigh coach Jim Lenihan, and left Seagulls mentor Ben Woolf again thinking what potential is in his team if they could be more consistent over 80 minutes.
The Seagulls scored the opening two tries of the second half, the first of which came via fullback Ali Grant who chased hard behind an AJ Brimson grubber kick into the in-goal.
The second was a less straightforward affair, with halfback Eli Levido putting in a centimetre-perfect kick into the in-goal, with Tyronne Roberts-Davis dropping the ball in his attempt to bring it out under heavy traffic, only for Regan Muir to touch the ball done.
That was the only joy on the scoreboard for the home side however, with the Bears doing all the damage early, and then wrapping up the match with two tries in the final five minutes.
Bears centre Sami Sauiluma proved hard to handle, especially in the first half and played a key role in setting up Burleigh’s first try, attracting plenty of attention from defenders before popping a late offload to the dangerous Roberts-Davis who leapt over athletically in the left-hand corner.
Burleigh’s tries came as one-two punches, and it was only five minutes later that the Bears had their second, with Dallas Wells the recipient of some great team play. Kurtis Rowe made a break through the middle and turned the ball out to the right to Henare Wells who then turned Tweed centre Ryland Jacobs around before passing back inside for his brother to score.
After the Seagulls worked hard to make their way back into the game for the remainder of the half; the Bears were able to deliver a crushing blow, scoring twice in the space of two minutes just before the break with Jai Whitbread finishing off another team try before he helped set up Jamal Fogarty after busting through the middle before passing inside to the faster man to establish the dominant lead.
They made have slackened off to start the second half, but the Bears finished the game strongly, with Luke Page finding his way over for a deserved try in the 75th minute, with fellow forward Jamie Dowling icing the result two minutes later after a successful short-side play to the Bears.
Despite the weather, both teams were able to put on an entertaining show and typical of a local derby, there was plenty of feeling in the match.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups at QRL Live
BURLEIGH BEARS 32 (Tyronne Roberts-Davis, Dallas Wells, Jai Whitbread, Jamal Fogarty, Luke Page, Jamie Dowling tries; Jamal Fogarty 3, Kurtis Rowe goals) def. TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 12 (Alex Grant, Regan Muir tries; Eli Levido 2 goals) at Piggabeen Sports Complex.
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