Written by Jason Oliver, Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
The Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls will continue their 2022 campaign this Sunday at 3pm when they take on the Sunshine Coast Falcons at Piggabeen Sports Complex, Tweed Heads.
The Seagulls will be looking to bounce back after a narrow loss to the Brisbane Tigers last weekend. Tweed conceded early in that game before showing some genuine resolve to fight back and take the lead with 15 minutes to go, before eventually going down 16-20. Lindon McGrady and the Seagulls’ right edge looked likely with the ball in Round 1 and should be a feature again this week.
The Falcons opened their season with a resounding 24-4 victory over the Redcliffe Dolphins last weekend. They were matched by the Dolphins in most key stat areas but were far more effective in good-ball to best Redcliffe four tries to one. Tyson Smoothy and Luke Polselli were standouts for the Sunshine Coast in attack, however, Smoothy has been called down to Melbourne so may not feature in this one.
The last time these two sides met was in Round 14, 2021 with the Seagulls running riot against the Falcons 40-18. Five-eighth Will Brimson, who is named to play this week, had a night out in that game, setting up two tries and running for 146 metres in the halves.
Tweed’s Round 1 result was disappointing, however, there were plenty of positives to take from the form of JJ Collins, Braden Robson and Lindon McGrady in particular, and the Seagulls will be looking to bounce back on Sunday afternoon.
Player(s) to Watch
JJ Collins’ influence was tangible in Tweed’s yardage game last week.
The big prop ran for 145 metres (45 post-contact) in his 54 minute stint, busting the line once and breaking three tackles in that time. He also had the second fastest play-the-ball speed of any player from that game, which explains why Tweed had such effective go-forward when Collins was on the field. From 16 receipts Collins managed 11 line-bending hitups as well as a few short passes before the line. Both actions helped the Seagulls generate some ruck-speed through the middle and created space on the edges.
The Seagulls looked best with Collins winning the ruck, Robson playing over the ad line and McGrady playing in space down the right edge, and Collins is shaping as the catalyst for points again this week.
How he frees up that right edge in particular will be worth watching, with McGrady and Scott Galeano (17 receipts, 156 run metres, 1 line break, 2 linebreak assists, 6 tackle breaks, 1 try) running riot on the back of Collins’ work through the middle last week. McGrady was bought plenty of time to ball-play out the back of shape in Round 1 and if he gets it again this week, expect Galeano and Sosefo Fifita to be the beneficiaries
Coach’s Comments
Head Coach Ben Woolf is remaining positive after the narrow loss last week and says the boys have been working hard to improve in certain areas for Round 2.
“The boys responded really well this week,” Woolf said.
“Our focus has been around our ruck defence and controlling the speed of the ruck.”
Woolf also confirmed that five-eighth Will Brimson will return to the halves this week.
“We will be looking for Will to bring some direction and leadership in the halves,” said Woolf.
“He is a strong runner of the ball so we will benefit from having his running game to threaten on the edges too.”
Team List
1 Paul Turner
2 Ryland Jacobs
3 Lee Turner
4 Scott Galeano
5 Jo Jo Fifita
6 Will Brimson
7 Lindon Mcgrady C
8 JJ Collins
9 Brent Woolf
10 Harrison Muller
11 Sam Mcintyre
12 Reuben Porter
13 Braden Robson
—
14 Craig Garvey
15 Lamar Liolevave C
16 Daniel Ross
17 Ioane Seiuli
18 Jaline Graham
—
Coach: Ben Woolf
Match Info
Round 2 v Sunshine Coast Falcons
Sunday 27th March, Piggabeen Sports Complex, Tweed Heads
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Streaming via QPlus.tv (subscription required)
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