The Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls will be chasing their third consecutive win this Sunday, 28th August when they travel to Totally Workwear Stadium, Brisbane to face the Brisbane Tigers in Round 20 of the QRL Hostplus Cup.

The Seagulls come into Sunday’s game following a dominant 42-0 shutout of the Townsville Blackhawks at Piggabeen last week. The locals were treated to a highlight reel of attacking skill from the home side in that game, with centres Joshua Patston and Treymain Spry crossing for doubles and captain Lindon McGrady posting a ridiculous five try assists from fullback.

Most notably for Head Coach Ben Woolf, though, was the zero on the scoreboard.

“Our defence was strong today. We still had a couple of soft errors but our line stayed connected throughout and it was pleasing to keep them to nil,” Woolf said.

Tweed had conceded a try in the first ten minutes in each of the four games prior to Round 19. However, they put themselves on the board early to score two of their own inside ten minutes and kept the line intact through to the final whistle against the Blackhawks.

The Seagulls will be looking to finish the 2022 regular season on a high and they profile well to do so on recent form.

With the squad getting close to full strength, Tweed’s attack has come to life at the right point in the season. Defence has been the focus for Woolf all year with the Seagulls boasting the fourth-best defensive record in the competition, but with finals just one week away Tweed’s attack has gone up a few gears at just the right time.

The Seagulls have scored an average 32.5 points in their last four regular season games. Some of this can be put down to Tweed welcoming back class players from injury or from NRL call-ups – Paul Turner, Toby Sexton, Braden Robson, Lamar Manuel-Liolevave, Treymain Spry and Jamayne Isaako, to name a few, have all returned for the Seagulls in the last few weeks as they prepare for the finals series.

More of Tweed’s recent form however can be put down to the play of five-eighth Will Brimson.

After spending two years away from rugby league before Woolf helped him rediscover his love for the game, Brimson is preparing to make his 50th Cup appearance this weekend and brings a run of stellar form into Tweed’s Round 20 clash with Easts.

The Seagulls will attack from anywhere on the park. With a license to offload and a focus on hitting the edges in yardage, they’re dangerous all the way up the field. Regardless of who fills the key playmaking positions and in which number, the Tweed attack has fallen into place. With Sexton again named in the halves alongside Brimson with McGrady at the back and Robson at hooker, the Seagulls will play with the same spine for a second-consecutive match – somewhat of a luxury this year. That can only help an attack that is already trending in the right direction.

The Brisbane Tigers secured an all-important 38-34 win over the Central Queensland Capras last week to take them to 21 competition points and seventh on the premiership ladder. That result should be enough to secure the Tigers a finals berth this season but a win against Tweed this week would provide Easts with a nice buffer as the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls and the Northern Pride scrap for a spot in the 2022 finals series with one regular season game remaining.

The last time these sides met was in the opening round of this season, with the Tigers coming out on top 20-16. Brisbane winger Bessie Toomaga was in red-hot form in that game, scoring a hat trick including the match winning try in the dying stages. The Seagulls get a chance to avenge that loss this weekend in their final game of the regular season.

Player to Watch

As the Seagulls are forced to shuffle players in and out of the spine almost every week, Will Brimson has been a mainstay. He has played 15 games throughout the year but his best have come in recent weeks.

The 26-year-old has has two tries and four assists in his last four games, as well as contributing three linebreaks, 11 tackle busts and an average 98.25 running metres per game. While only registering one official try assist in Round 19, Brimson featured throughout Tweed’s most dangerous attacking actions as they piled up 42 points on the Blackhawks. At one stage firing a pass out wide with a defender hanging off his jersey, Brimson often found himself throwing the pass before the try assist in Tweed’s attacking movements.

His combination with Joshua Patston and Lee Turner on Tweed’s left edge has been a strength all season. More recently however, he has linked up with Patston and Ioane Seiuli on the left edge. The trio link up in yardage to drag the Seagulls up the field. In good ball, both Seiuli and Patston run excellent lines to further provide Brimson with options. Finding Patston off the boot is becoming a regular avenue for points, too.

It’s unclear whether this has happened by coincidence or design, but with Toby Sexton slotting back into the halfback position and Lindon McGrady shifting to fullback, the familiarity of Brimson’s left edge has seen Tweed search plenty down that side of the field in yardage and good ball. Brimson’s positive involvement on the left side has been a hallmark of the attack this year and will be a key area as the Seagulls look to navigate the remainder of the Hostplus Cup season.

Coach’s Comments

Head Coach Ben Woolf says he is looking forward to one final hit-out before the finals series kicks off.

“We are looking to continue to build into the finals series,” said Woolf.

“The Tigers are a strong team so we will need to be solid in defence and improve our line speed. Our combinations came together nicely last week so we will be aiming to continue to improve there and sharpen our attack.

Team List

1. Lindon McGrady
2. Jamayne Isaako
3. Treymaine Spry
4. Josh Patston
5. Scott Galeano
6. Will Brimson
7. Toby Sexton
8. JJ Collins
9. Braden Robson
10. Reuben Porter
11. Klese Haas
12. Ioane Șeiuli
13. Charlie Murray
14. Craig Garvey
15. Lamar Manuel-Liolevave
16. Jo Vuna
17. Reece Summer

Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media

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