Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, travelled to Kilcoy Sports Centre for Country Round and returned home with two valuable competition points following their 38-12 victory over the Brisbane Tigers.
Brent Woolf went close to scoring early, prompting a strip penalty as the Tigers desperately tried to defend their line. However, after settling to the middle and spreading the ball to the left edge, Lindon McGrady shaped to throw it one pass further before stepping back inside and through the line to score.
Both sides worked up the field well in yardage, forcing the other to work from deep inside their own end to return the favour. One strong Tigers defensive set proved decisive, though. Following a lengthy return and their first visit into the Seagulls’ 20-metre zone, the Tigers forced a repeat set and turned it into points through Leivaha Pulu.
One try became two as the Tigers scored only two minutes later. Having defended the kickoff set well, McGrady couldn’t keep hold of the 5th-tackle kick with Corey Thompson there to dot down on the following tackle.
It looked as though the Tigers might make it three in three minutes as they broke into the backfield shortly after the kickoff, but a scrambling Seagulls defence recovered and forced an error before starting to play themselves back into the match.
Another McGrady linebreak assist put Jacob McCudden through the line but he couldn’t quite find the pass to level the scores. Lee Turner couldn’t keep hold of the ball while reaching out to score following a short side raid. The close calls did allow Tweed to reassert themselves in the territory battle, though.
A scheming Treymain Spry run pushed the Seagulls further into Tigers territory as Will Brimson forced a dropout – one that flew out on the full. With the penalty out in front of the posts, Tweed looked to the right through Ryland Jacobs before a long shift from one side of the field to the other ended with Kaleb Ngamanu over in the corner.
As has been the case so often in recent weeks, Tweed looked comfortable in attack. They worked up the field through the middle and peppered the edges for points in good ball. Also, the case: Errors in yardage. The Seagulls presented the Tigers with an opportunity to attack in good ball but forced an error of their own.
Getting back to the plan and keeping possession, Tweed finished the first half with a lead as Brimson sold a dummy similar to McGrady’s earlier to put his side 18-12 in front.
The first half can be summed up as a tale of two halves in itself with the Seagulls dominating for lengthy periods but spending the majority of it behind on the scoreboard.
The Tigers earned the first dangerous shot of the second half in attack but with McGrady’s work to sweep up the grubber and a Jacobs carry producing a penalty, Tweed soon found themselves with an attacking opportunity of their own. For a third time, a try looked within reach as Daniel Ross lost possession falling towards the line.
After defending back-to-back penalties and a raid on their line, Tweed regained control of the yardage battle. McGrady’s boot proved particularly influential in keeping Brisbane deep in their own end.
With the foundation set, McGrady played a key part in two tries in as many minutes for Tweed to take a commanding 30-12 lead into the final 15 minutes.
First, his bomb defusal and break into the backfield put Treymain Spry over.
On the next set, The Prince of Piggabeen pushed up in support following a Luke Burton linebreak set up by a superb short ball by Lamar Manuel-Liolevave. The big middle forward looked long and played short to throw a peach of a pass for points.
Jacobs added another try to his tally for the season as Tweed continued to pull away through to the final siren. Following a disappointing defeat last week, the Seagulls responded well to record a convincing 38-12 win over a top-four opposition and give their finals chances a significant boost.
Key Takeaways
Dave Penna has mentioned it plenty in recent weeks, but when the Seagulls stick to the plan and maintain possession, they can keep up with any side in the competition.
Despite falling behind again this week, Tweed put together enough good periods with the ball to put themselves in front at the break. Their finish to the first half, in particular, showed exactly what they’re capable of as they put pressure on the middle defence before capitalising for points out wide.
Playing patient footy to start the second half, Tweed flew into the finish as the pressure they’d built broke down the Tigers’ defence.
The Seagulls have been in this position a few times in recent weeks and were able to learn from their mistakes to take the lead and embrace the grind before extending it this time around.
Coaches Comments
Coach Dave Penna was pleased with the response of his side this week after a frustrating loss in Round 17.
“It was a different footy side,” Penna said.
“We put it together today. We defended well, worked hard for one another, and our attack has been great all year. We knew that if we do those simple things well we will put ourselves right in this competition. It was really pleasing.”
It did threaten to go similar to last week when Tweed needed to climb back from an early deficit but they were able to learn from their mistakes and finish it off this time.
“The best thing that is really pleasing at the moment is we saw some real signs of blokes learning from mistakes, things they’ve been doing, and not doing them now. As a coach, that’s the pleasing part. We’re trying to get better and educate ourselves on how to win tough games when you’re tired and behind.”
They did just that in Round 18 and will have a few weeks now to rest and recover ahead of a big finish to the regular season.
“We’ve been going 12 weeks now with trips to PNG and all over Queensland – planes, trains and automobiles. Some of our boys a pretty banged up, so we’re going to give them some time off this week.
“We’ve put ourselves in with a chance to play in the finals. We’ve got three home games to finish, so it’s come at a good time for us.”
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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