Written by Jason Oliver, Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
The Townsville Blackhawks pulled out to a first-half lead before defending their way to a 17-4 win over an error-riddled Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls on Sunday afternoon.
Wet conditions and a swirling breeze didn’t stop the two sides from playing with a positive mindset early in this one. Tweed found space down both edges only for the final pass to find the ground as they looked for ways around the defence. Townsville, on the other hand, created their opportunities through the middle as Josh Chudleigh broke into the backfield after darting out from dummy half. He couldn’t find a teammate in support and yet another opportunity went begging, but it wasn’t long before one of those early opportunities translated into the first points of the match.
Missing on two passes down the edge already, it was third time lucky for the Seagulls. Following a long shift to the left which ended with Ryland Jacobs being dragged down just short of the line, Will Brimson stepped into dummy half and fired the ball across the face of the defence for Lee Turner to open the scoring.
It became clear early on that Taniela Sadrugu would be a regular target in the air for Robert Lui and the Blackhawks but Turner and Jacobs repeatedly handled him on the last. It was a Sadrugu carry that became the catalyst to Townsville’s first try of the afternoon, though. The big right centre charged up the field leaving defenders in his wake. His powerful run and quick play-the-ball was a cue for Chudleigh to look to go himself out of dummy half with the Blackhawks hooker driving through Jayden Campbell’s attempted tackle at A defender on the line.
A Campbell error soon led to more points for the home team. Taking the ball out the back of shape on the left side, Lui shaped to pass, sent the defence wide, and used his bigger body to push through Lindon McGrady’s tackle to extend the Blackhawks’ lead out to 12-4.
In his first appearance of the season, Lui worked his way into the game and set up Kalifa FaiFai-Loa to score in the corner 35 minutes in. With Campbell defending in the line on the Tweed left edge and the right edge up and in, Lui rolled one into the in-goal for Faifai-loa to score and for the home side to take a 16-4 lead into the sheds.
The Seagulls looked a lot more controlled and composed as they won the early stages of the second half. Getting up the field with the ball and kicking well to finish the set, Tweed started to show signs of life in attack. The right side had threatened all day as Jayden Campbell linked up with McGrady. However, their dangerous shift in the 51st minute went a long way to summing up their day.
McGrady does an excellent job to get the ball away while wearing a big shot. He had found Campbell in this spot a couple of times already and the Seagulls fullback was able to feed Paul Turner with clean ball. Coach Ben Woolf mentioned after Round 4 they had worked towards getting Paul Turner early ball recently, and despite the change in position this week, the approach looked the same. However, like many other promising moments during the match, this one ended with a Tweed error.
The feeling was that one try could become two or three for the Seagulls. However, the Blackhawks continued to scramble well in defence while Lui’s experience showed time and time again as he kicked the home side around the field on the 5th tackle.
Three consecutive sets ended in errors for the Seagulls as they fumbled their way up the field late in the match. Again, looking dangerous at times, too many dropped balls cost the visitors time attacking inside the opposition’s 20-metre line. It was a Brimson dropped ball while attempting to offload with the line in sight five minutes short of full time that ended any hopes of a grandstand finish.
Still, Michael Bell made sure of it for the Blackhawks with two minutes to play by slotting a field goal to secure the 17-4 win.
Key Takeaways
Errors cost the Seagulls dearly in this one. There are plenty of points in this side and despite only crossing the line once, the attack isn’t a major concern. McGrady created chances and the ball moved well through the middle when the Seagulls could hold onto it. In the centres this week, Paul Turner was able to apply some footwork but ultimately lacked the opportunities near the line to really make a mark on this game with the ball. Jayden Campbell stepped in with some classy touches throughout the match, too. However, playing on the road and in tough conditions, the Seagulls gave the ball up too often to build pressure and didn’t trouble the Blackhawks defence often enough.
Brent Woolf was a big out alongside JJ Collins, although, Craig Garvey continued his good form to start the season at hooker while Tanah Boyd featured at dummy half off the bench. The hooker rotation is one of Tweed’s greatest strengths and remains as such even without Woolf. Boyd doesn’t have quite the same running game as the regular pair but he stepped out from behind the ruck and engaged the markers well. Getting out further and looking to create in attack against a retreating defensive line, Boyd didn’t look out of place in what is still a relatively unfamiliar position for the 21-year-old.
Coach’s Comments
Seagulls coach Ben Woolf welcomed Jayden Campbell into the side late this week which threw up a couple of challenges. Although, they’re the sort you make for a player of his class.
“Jayden’s a dangerous player,” Woolf said.
“It was difficult bringing him in late but he is always classy at times in the game.”
But regular errors and a lack of opportunity limited the impact Campbell could have on the Tweed attack this week.
“We didn’t control the ball well enough to really build pressure with our attack. We showed glimpses, but didn’t have enough ball to really trouble them,” said Woolf.
The Seagulls are back at home next week to host the Wynnum Manly Seagulls on Saturday afternoon.
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