The Seagulls A-grade side had to withstand a fightback by the Southport Tigers before holding onto third spot on the ladder with a 27-20 victory at Owen Park.
The Gulls ran out to a 16-0 lead after 20 minutes with three tries but were ahead only 17-16 early in the second half before gaining some composure in the last quarter of the match to hold on for an important victory.
After a solid start that saw tries to Zac Bainbridge from a set move after only five minutes, then well-executed tries to Michael Gray and Sione Alofi followed within the next 15 minutes, Tweed began failing to round of their sets with their fifth tackle plays and the free-flowing Tigers struck with two tries to get back into the match.
A field goal to experienced halfback Paul Sheedy just before the break gave the Seagulls a 17-10 half-time lead.
But Southport were first to score in the second half to go to 17-16 behind and tries were exchanged for the next 25 minutes (hooker Jenan Parrish for the Gulls) before the Seagulls again opened up a seven point-lead with a try to Kirk Murphy with 18 minutes to go. From there, Tweed held the Tigers at bay.
“We began really well but we started to make some errors at the end of our sets and didn’t defend their last plays as well as we should have and let them back into it,” said coach Darryl Fisher.
“We played some good footy but our execution just wasn’t there a few times and proved a bit costly.
“Southport are hard to play as they have a bit of a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and are happy to throw the ball around a fair bit.”
Lock Kia Sands was an outstanding performer for the Seagulls with Sione Alofi again one of the team’s best while Sheedy came into the side at halfback and his composure was vital at times.
Tweed Heads 27 (Z Bainbridge, M Gray, S Alofi, D Parrish, K Murphy tries; Bainbridge 3 goals, P Sheedy field goal) beat Southport 20.
LADDER AFTER ROUND 10
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | B | FOR | AGST | PD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burleigh | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 388 | 130 | 258 | 30 |
| 2 | Tugun | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 264 | 158 | 106 | 23 |
| 3 | Tweed Heads | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 225 | 166 | 59 | 22 |
| 4 | Runaway Bay | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 289 | 166 | 123 | 21 |
| 5 | Currumbin | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 173 | 248 | -75 | 17 |
| 6 | Bilambil | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 174 | 219 | -45 | 15 |
| 7 | Southport | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 180 | 249 | -69 | 15 |
| 8 | Ormeau | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 80 | 437 | -357 | 9 |
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