Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, hosted the Central Queensland Capras in Round 13. Having lost back-to-back games in the lead-up to this one, the Seagulls made a statement with a resounding 42-18 win at the Piggabeen Sports Complex.
The Capras wasted no time in turning their first opportunity to attack in good ball into points. Following a threatening shift to the left edge, Blake Moore returned the ball back to the middle with a grubber that deflected off the posts and into the hands of Brandon Roberts to score the opener.
Forcing a repeat set shortly after points applied more pressure on the Tweed defensive line. A penalty forced the home side into making more tackles, too. However, the work Tweed put into their defence throughout the week paid dividends to withstand the attacking raid before a strong yardage set put them in a position to enter the arm wrestle. Using that set to force a poor kick out of the Capras in yardage, Treymain Spry returned it to the house to level the scores in the 14th minute.
Tweed took the confidence from their defence and the points that followed into a dominant period 15 minutes in. Getting up the field in yardage and staying there through a Toby Sexton forced dropout, Lindon McGrady went close to scoring in the left corner. Laying to the numbers through Lamar Manuel-Liolevave and returning to the left corner, Lee Turner crashed his way over the line.
Brent Woolf’s work here can’t be understated. By jumping out to engage the A defender and using the lead line to commit the defender at B, Woolf created the three-v-two matchup out wide for McGrady and Turner to combine for points.
Tweed controlled possession and field position in the quarter before halftime. An accidental offside as the Capras tried to kick their way out of trouble soon turned into a penalty and two points off the boot courtesy of McGrady.
The Capras struggled to work out of their own end towards the back end of the first half. Pushing a pass and looking for a second phase, they provided the home side with another chance to score before the break. Returning to the left edge where they’ve found so much success this season and did so again early into this one, Oskar Bryant spotted two defenders on the short side. One-on-one with his opposite, Turner bounced out to bring the winger into the tackle before sending Kaleb Ngamanu over in the corner.
Despite conceding early, the Seagulls responded well to take control of the game and carry a 20-6 lead into the break.
The home side was presented with an opportunity to build their lead straight out of the sheds as the Capras failed to complete their kickoff set. While Turner couldn’t flick the ball out to Ngamanu on the left wing, Tweed turned it over in the corner and picked up where they left off in terms of their dominance in field position.
Back-to-back Seagulls penalties did provide the Capras with an opportunity to attack in good ball but, once again, the much-improved defence of the home side held firm to turn them away and work up the field themselves. It took ten tackles on their next visit for the Capras to finally crack the line through Brandon Clarke’s barge over from dummy half.
Carrying a 20-12 lead into the final quarter of the match, Tweed quickly returned their lead to 12 and then 18 as Spry ran 90 metres to return another Capras 5th-tackle kick to score the first and Ngamanu collected a Weaver cross-field kick for the second.
Tweeds’ work in the first half put them in a position to win it in the second. While the Capras threatened to mount a comeback following Clarke’s try in the 57th minute, the Seagulls came home with a wet sail to score three tries in ten minutes to put the game out of reach with ten to play. Reece Summer’s first try of his Hostplus Cup career and Ngamanu’s third of the afternoon for his first career hattrick put the cherry on top of a 42-18 victory.
The win acts as a much-needed boost up the ladder for Tweed following back-to-back defeats. The Mackay Cutters now wait for David Penna’s side with the two teams booked to meet at BB Print Stadium on Saturday evening.
Key Takeaways
Add lock and edge backrow to Ryland Jacobs’ list of positions he can fill. He spent time at hooker, in the centres, at fullback and on the wing to start the season. This week, he replaced Will Brimson off the bench to spot up as a middle forward before pushing out to the edge when Oskar Bryant moved into hooker and Brent Woolf to lock.
“He’s Mr. Fix It, for sure,” Penna said after the game.
“Ryland’s effort and commitment to his teammates is second to none in our side.”
Tweed’s left edge returned to its best this week. Having left a few points out there against the Hunters in Round 12, they made sure to pile them up in Round 13. Spry bagged a double on the right edge by returning two Capras kicks to the house but Tweed’s best-constructed tries came down the left channel. Spry managed to feature in the last one himself.
Flipping over from the right to the left in Tweed’s last play of the game, Spry beat the man opposite him for speed and brought the winger into the tackle before handing the ball off for Ngamanu to score his third of the afternoon.
Coaches Comments
Tweed coach Dave Penna was relieved to get the win after a tough couple of weeks for his side.
“I know the boys have been hurting and we haven’t been playing all that well but it was nice to see them all rally around each other,” Penna said.
“It’s been a long week after a tough loss last week, so I’m very pleased as a coach to be where we are.”
Having spent the week with a focus on defence, Penna was pleased with the improvements.
“Our attitude towards it was great.”
“We still have a few areas we need to work on. They’re a classy footy side and threw plenty at us but we defended them well.
“The tries we let in those lapses in concentration.”
While there were a handful of lapses, Tweed know what it takes to win games and stuck to the plan after conceding early.
“If we can defend well and put our kicks into the corners and hold onto the footy, we’ve got a team that can score points,” said Penna.
“We’ve just got to make sure we do the simple things well and today was very pleasing. Even after conceding that first try we got back into rhythm and kept working hard.”
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
Our aim at Rugby League Writers:
The Pub Test is a classic rugby league reference. Heck, the NRL have changed rules based on what they think does and doesn’t pass The Pub Test. We want YOU to be the most informed person at that pub. By digging into the best players, teams, shapes and schemes, we observe the game through an analytical lense and piece it all together through weekly previews, reviews, newsletters and features.
Related Posts
