Neil Cadigan
The Ben Campbell Building Group Tweed Heads Seagulls’ great run into the top six based on relentless defensive attitude came to a crushing halt against Burleigh Bears in the Rivalry Round clash at Pizzey Park, with the Gulls conceding 34 unanswered points after leading 16-0.
The Seagulls seemed to have every answer to the bullocking Bears pack in the first 30 minutes, and in return scored three well-crafted tries.
Yet two soft tries in the five minutes before the break changed the match dramatically with the Bears going into the sheds just four points adrift at 16-12 rather than questioning themselves at 16-0.
On the back of a penalty, line-drop out and a dropped ball from the second half restart, Burleigh pressured the Gulls’ goal-line but desperate defence – the feature of Tweed’s run of eight wins from nine games – held tight.
The Gulls worked down into Burleigh’s quarter only for a pass to the left by five-eighth Kane Elgey to be intercepted by his Titans teammates Tyronne Roberts Davis who ran 85 metres to score in the 49th minute. His conversion gave Burleigh the lead at 18-16 for the first time in the game and the Bears dominated from that point.
Five minutes later a lack of communication between fullback Talor Walters and winger Kiah Cooper as they moved to cover a kick into Tweed’s quarter saw Roberts Davis come up with the ball, then twist out of a tackle to score his second try.
From then it as like a switch had been pulled. The Gulls, so convincing in their intent for the first half-hour, became hesitant and lost confidence while the Bears grew in confidence and purpose.
The Gulls then continued to concede penalties or make errors with the ball, while the Bears – who went into the game without chief playmaker Jamal Fogarty and lost five-eighth Dallas Wells at half-time after colliding with the upright while scoring a try – played a simple game of ploughing through the middle and it kept the Gulls on the back foot.
Yet in the first 30 minutes, the story was the exact opposite.
It took just seven minutes for the Seagulls to score their first try when, on the back of two Burleigh errors caused by physical Gulls’ defence, a grubber-kick into the in-goal by Elgey saw Kody Parsons get to the ball first.
In the 16th minute Cooper did extremely well to, after stepping inside off his left foot, shake off the scrambling defence and stay in touch to post the Gulls’ second try after good lead up work by centre Brendan Elliot and Elgey. Both tries were converted from out wide by Lindon McGrady.
Ryland Jacobs, playing at right centre, crashed though in the 31st minute to make it 16-0 to Tweed before the mood of the game changed.
First Bears lock Sam Coster slipped his left arm out of a three-man tackle and stretched over the line in the 35th minute and with just 40 seconds of the first half remaining, Bears’ fullback Kurtis Rowe stepped back into the second of the ruck and found Dallas Wells in support and he went through gaping hole to touch down under the posts.
The Bears added three unanswered tries in the second half as their confidence grew and the Seagulls just couldn’t seem to build any pressure with the ball.
They have until next Saturday to regroup before taking on Wynnum Manly in the second clash played between the two flocks on North Stradbroke Island.
BURLEIGH BEARS 34 (Tyrone Roberts-Davis 2, Sam Coster, Dallas Wells, Sami Sauiluma, Kurtis Rowe tries; Tyrone Roberts-Davis 4, Josh Rogers goals) def TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 16 (Kody Parsons, Kiah Cooper, Ryland Jacobs tries; Lindon McGrady 2 goals) at Pizzey Park.
PHOTO: Kiah Cooper crossing in the left corner during the first half.
