The Ben Campbell Building Group Seagulls struck back well from the disappointing 32-6 loss to Wynnum Manly with a vital 14-12 away victory against the Mackay Cutters in Mackay which leaves Tweed in seventh position, but equal third on competition points.
The Gulls went out to a 14-0 lead after 30 minutes and led 14-2 at half-time and held on against a determined Cutters, with several positional changes made by coach Ben Woolf working well.
With Christian Hazard and Titan Ryley Jacks both available for the first time, Woolf moved in-form five-eighth Lindon McGrady to fullback and switched regular fullback Talor Walters to the right wing. Teenager Treymain Spry played on the right side, in the centres inside Walters, and had an excellent game – scoring the opening try and setting up Walters for the second with a neat one-handed offload.
Sione Seiuli was moved from the wing to left centre and did well enough to be chosen there again against Redcliffe Dolphins this Sunday. This meant Lamar Liolevave moved back to the second row where he had played the previous two seasons, giving the Seagulls a powerful pack with good depth off the bench and this showed.
Having Jacks and Hazard in the halves, hooker Jack Cook playing as an extra No.7 in attack early in the game and McGrady roving from the back, gave the side a new attacking dimension.
The first try came in just the fourth minute with Cook combining with Jacks and Hazard in a shift to the right which allowed Spry to get on the outside of his man and cross wide out from 25 metres. McGrady converted for 6-0 then soon after added a penalty goal.
It was Taylor’s turn in the 28th minute. With Cook again acting as first receiver, with Ethan Roberts starting at dummy half, the ball again was shifted right from 30 metres out to the left of the posts with Jacks and Hazard creating a little space for Spry who took on his opposite and gave Walters, who read the play well, a clear run on the outside. McGrady again converted to make it three from three.
Former Titans under-20s player Shane Wright scored a double in the 55th and 69th minutes to put the Cutters into the game. The first came when he ran into a hole from close range on the Seagulls’ right edge. The second was a from a shirt grubber-kick that rebounded off the legs of Gulls prop Leilani Latu and popped into Wright’s hands.
Carlin Anderson missed the second conversion to leave Tweed with a two-point margin and 10 minutes remaining and then held on well to take the two points.
Earlier at BP Print Stadium, the Tweed Mal Meninga Cup (under-18s) beat the Cutters 72-0 to take fourth position on the ladder while the Colts (under-20s) gave the Seagulls the triple-crown by winning 16-10 at 1300Smiles Stadium in Townsville, They hold onto sixth place with three wins and three losses.
TWEED SEAGULLS 14 (Treymain Spry, Talor Walters tries; Lindon McGrady 3 goals) def MACKAY CUTTERS 12 (Shane Wright 2 tries; Carlin Anderson 2 goals) at BB Print Stadium, Mackay.
HASTINGS DEERING COLTS – TWEED SEAGULLS 16 (Tahne Robinson, Gerard Ah-Nau, Reece Butler tries; Jaman Rio 2 goals) def MACKAY CUTTERS 10 (Taine Browne 2 tries; Brendan White goal) at 1300Smiles Stadium, Townsville.
AUSWIDE BANK MAL MENINGA CUP – TWEED SEAGULLS 72 (Kade Hill 2, Xavier Coates 2, Reece Walsh 2, Solomon Torrens 2, Ben Liyou, Caleb Hodges, Ediq Ambrosyev, Brendan Piakura, Toby Sexton tries; Toby Sexton 10 goals) def MACKAY CUTTERS 0 at BB Print Stadium, Mackay.
Related Posts
