Round 16 Match Preview – QRL Hostplus Cup vs Norths Devils

Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, head up to Bishop Park in Brisbane to take on the Norths Devils in Round 16.

While fighting their way back to a second half lead, the extra defence after falling 14-0 behind inside 14 minutes cost Tweed in the end.

“Early in the game we just didn’t turn up defensively. We didn’t turn up. We were a bit nervous, a bit grabby. We paid for it in the end,”

coach Dave Penna said after the match.

Despite the slow start, an improved yardage game helped the Seagulls pull 22-14 in front in the 55th minute. Treymain Spry (155m), Kaleb Ngamanu (151m), Lee Turner (224m) and Ryland Jacobs (141m) combined for 671 metres for the match to push the Seagulls up the field and into attacking territory. From there, Tom Weaver and Toby Sexton added another try assist each to their season tally with Weaver scoring one of his own as the Seagulls attack piled up the points when presented with the opportunity.

The key this week will be to improve on the 33 missed tackles and 12 ineffective tackles while keeping on the right side of the officials after being whistled for ten penalties to Burleigh’s four.

The start will be a major focus this week and the return of Lindon McGrady will help. The Tweed captain hasn’t played since Round 13 but his 111 games worth of experience has been named to return on Sunday. McGrady at fullback pushes Treymain Spry back into the centres and Logan Radzievic out of the side. Joe Vuna and Kruise Leeming also won’t feature with Lamar Manuel-Liolevave back into prop and Brent Woolf wearing #9 this week.

It’s the second time these two teams have met in 2023. While the Devils put together a comeback of their own in the second half, a 32-0 Seagulls lead propelled them to a 32-26 win back in Round 3. A Sexton masterclass in engaging the middle defence allowed Weaver to pick up four try assists as the Seagulls attack caught fire.

Tweed will need a repeat in the rematch after the Devils hung 40 points on the second-placed Souths Logan Magpies in Round 15.

A week after getting past the Dolphins thanks to a 76th-minute Bryce Donovan field goal in Round 14, the Devils used a Jonathon Reuben hattrick to put 40 points past a Magpies defence that entered the match conceding only 18 points per game.

Reuben is a prolific try scorer with his 13 this season putting him 2nd in the competition after 15 rounds. Alongside Reuben, Jack Ahearn needs no introduction as he runs out for his 157th Hostplus Cup appearance on Sunday afternoon. Ahearn’s influence from fullback is similar to the Seagulls’ Lindon McGrady with his ball playing a particularly important feature of the Norths attack.

The big win last week did wonders for the Devils’ points differential. While four points behind the Seagulls at 8th, their +36 is as good as another win when put against other sides fighting for a finals spot. With an opportunity to separate themselves from 9th and beyond, Tweed will be eager to right the wrongs of last week and pick up the two competition points on Sunday afternoon.

Player To Watch

Tom Weaver handed out a career-high four try assists in his last match against the Devils. With six more in the ten games since then, the 20-year-old is looking more comfortable every week. His combination with Kaleb Ngamanu (12 tries this season) and Lee Turner (7 tries and 8 try assists) on the left edge, in particular, has developed into one of the most potent attacking avenues in the competition.

While the numbers display Weaver’s talents in attack, Coach Dave Penna has spoken more about the work he puts into his defence throughout the season.

The Bears, just as they did in Round 3, asked him to make a season-high 18 tackles last week with Weaver handling the attention well. He will have a tackle-breaking Connor Broadhurst and try-scoring Jonathon Reuben on his side of the field this week in another big test.

“Tommy’s working hard,” Penna said during the week.

“He’s brave and he’s tough. He’ll keep working hard at that and I’ve got complete faith in him.”

 

Coaches Comments

Tweed has a longer week between games but hasn’t forgotten about the positives and areas to work on from Round 15.

“There were still a few boys a bit disappointed on Tuesday but we’ve got to move on,” Penna said.

“The best way we can do that is to play our best footy.”

On a more positive note, the Seagulls know their best footy and showed as much at times against the Bears. While the result didn’t fall the right way in the end last week, we saw what they can do when sticking to the processes.

“There were about 22 minutes there during the game where we didn’t play,” said Penna.

“We didn’t do what we trained to do. Against a quality football team, that’s where they hurt us.

“The rest of the game we stuck to what we wanted, did what we needed to do and achieved what I thought was our best footy.”

Achieving their best footy starts in defence, though.

“It’s one thing we prided ourselves on at the start of the year and did really well but we’ve dropped off that. It’s been a big focus for us this week.”

Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media

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