The Gold Coast Airport Tweed Seagulls bounced back from an error-ridden start to their match at Browne Park, Rockhampton. However, the Central Queensland Capras built enough of a lead to secure the 22-4 win in a scrappy Round 1 contest.
Tweed put themselves under pressure early by conceding penalties in yardage, but the Capras couldn’t turn their gifted opportunities into points to start. Instead, when Tweed kept hold of the ball and completed their defensive sets without issue, they looked the more likely of the two teams to score in the first ten minutes. Both Rona Peters and Jamie Chapman went close to scoring the opener.
Round 1 rust defined the exchanges throughout the opening period of the match. Too often one team backed an opposition error up with one of their own. Eventually, the Capras managed to get to the end of a set in good ball which saw Reeghyn Beardmore roll a perfect grubber in behind the line for Tarni Smith to claim the first four-pointer of the afternoon and a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes.
The penalties continued to pile up for the Seagulls. Offside out of yardage and a high tackle in good ball provided the Capras with an ideal opportunity to build on their lead. However, the Tweed line speed never slowed. They continued to get up in the face of the Capras as they looked to shift the ball through the left edge, forcing errors themselves and threatening to get into the grind.
Despite the dropped ball and lack of flow to the game, Jamie Chapman’s quality shone throughout. Eager to get her hands on the ball whenever possible, the Seagulls and Brisbane Broncos fullback’s running game looked the most likely avenue to ascendency.
As is often the case in early-season games, completing sets is pivotal. Riding out the rust and earning shots inside the opposition’s 20-metre line is the name of the game. Beardmore’s boot ended up being the major difference between the two teams across the first half. Getting to the last tackle shortly before the break, she rolled another one in behind the Tweed defensive line. Mariah Stoch fell on it the second time around before adding the extras to build a 12-0 lead at halftime.
Unfortunately for the Seagulls, the second half started in a similar fashion to the first: with errors.
Like the first half, the Carpras halfback made good use of their time attacking the Seagulls line. Having rolled two in behind the line already, she took it on herself to crash over for an 18-0 lead in the 47th minute.
We caught a glimpse of how things could look for the Seagulls if the passes started to stick. A short side raid into an offload back in field put the visitors in a position to attack in good ball. With it, Gloria-Hannah Murray-Fiu – who had produced a few promising moments from dummy half already – capitalised on some tired Capras defence to score her first of the 2023 BMD Premiership season.
A Jessika Elliston linebreak provided Tweed with a chance to earn a grandstand finish. The Tweed prop put on some footwork to beat the defence but Kolora Lomani was dragged down in the backfield in a tackle that went a long way to sealing the result for Central Queensland. A Krystal Sulter try in the dying stages made sure of it.
While the Seagulls looked a lot better the longer the game went on, the early errors and penalties made the job too difficult to finish inside 70 minutes as they went down 22-4 in Rockhampton.
Key Takeaways
Rona Peters was in everything for the Tweed Seagulls in this one. She ran the ball well to carry her side up the field. When she wasn’t carting it up herself, Rona’s middle service created favourable opportunities for the other forwards around her. On a dry day, she will be a good source of clean ball for the outside backs too.
A pass, run and kick threat in good ball, she will be crucial to the Seagulls attack when it all clicks in yardage. However, and a lot of it is down to how much time Tweed was forced to spend in defence, she made a significant impact without it. A big shot put an end to a good Capras set more than once.
Nikiah Campbell is another that will benefit from more opportunities to attack the opposition line. Light on her feet as she changes her tempo across the field, it won’t be long before she steps into a gap and opens her account for the year.
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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