Round 3 Match Review – QRL BMD Premiership vs Brisbane Tigers

The Gold Coast Airport Tweed Seagulls played host to the Brisbane Tigers at the Piggabeen Sports Complex, Piggabeen in Round 3. With both sides looking for their first win of the 2023 BMD Premiership season, the Brisbane Tigers claimed the competition points with a 24-12 comeback win.

The Seagulls withstood an early attacking raid from the Tigers before getting up the field and opening the scoring themselves. Shortly after Jamie Chapman held up Tigers centre Keisha-Leigh Coolwell up over the line, Tweed centre Kolora Lomani went over to open the scoring at the other end.

The Tigers failed to play to the whistle as the ball went to ground and Zara Canfield spied the opportunity out wide.

Having saved one early, Chapman put herself on the scoreboard seven minutes later. It started with Nikiah Campbell forcing a repeat set and ended with the Seagulls fullback under the posts. Setting up on the left post and fanned out to the right, it looked as though the home side wanted to string a shift together for Faith Tutauha in the corner. However, as the Tweed backline looked right, Chapman snuck in underneath, found the gap and pushed their lead out to 12-0.

The scoreboard didn’t paint an accurate picture of the first 20 minutes. Despite finding themselves 12-0 behind, the Tigers hadn’t played poorly. They worked up the field well and generated opportunities to attack in good ball. The Tweed defence finally cracked following Ellen Nussey’s forced dropout with Nikayla Sines crashing over in the left corner.

As the game worked into more of the grind, Tweed searched for easier metres down the edges. Jetaya Faifua’s long passing game proved difficult for the Tigers to handle as she floated one over to Daisy Gordon in yardage. With the defensive line scrambled and points on offer, Jessika Elliston couldn’t reel in a pass around her ankles as an 18-6 lead went begging shortly before halftime.

Some Tweed ill-discipline released pressure too often in the first half. Piggyback penalties, one as the Tigers worked out from their own corner, put a lid on Tweed’s scoring as they entered the sheds having left points out on the field. An error to open the second half provided the Tigers with an opportunity to close the gap. Similar to the first half, early ball to Sines on the left edge translated into points as she broke through the line and ducked a Chapman tackle to score.

Nikiah Campbell took it upon herself to drag the Seagulls up the field in response to Brisbane points but another Tweed error put the home side under more pressure. That pressure turned into Tigers points and a 14-12 lead in the 42nd minute.

Errors continued to dominate the game as both sides gave up possession. Tweed didn’t have any trouble getting up the field when they held onto the ball and a strong set threatened to turn the tide. Erana Reti passed her forwards onto the ball by jumping out and engaging the markers in yardage. Chapman inserted herself into the set with a classic crabbing run to pull the defensive line out of shape.

But the defensive workload proved too much for Tweed as the error count kept building. An attempted intercept to ground set a scrum for the Tigers. A sweeping Tayla Eldridge created the extra number and allowed Tegan Spicer to push Brisbane’s lead out to 20-12 with 15 minutes to play.

Just as Tweed looked to be building some momentum through their forward pack, they lost a key contributor in Canfield. The referee spotted a high shot – which he called Canfield’s fourth of the afternoon – and the Seagulls backrower was given her marching orders in the 61st minute.

Chapman did her best to inspire one last push from her side with a destructive carry but was forced to leave the field reducing Tweed to 11 for a moment. The Tigers used that moment to score their fifth unanswered try and secure the 24-12 away win.

It’s a result the Seagulls will feel as though they let slip following a fast start. They played well in patches but too many errors limited them to 12 points. They’ll now prepare for their Round 4 match against the Burleigh Bears who convincingly beat the Mackay Cutters 34-4 this week.

Key Takeaways

The Seagulls looked the better side when they were able to maintain possession. Even in moments both teams embraced the grind, they looked the more likely to score. However, regular errors and relieving penalties provided the visitors with too many opportunities to score. By turning over possession in their own half, Tweed spent too long defending and the extra tackles eventually caught up with them.

Georgia and Jessika Elliston both ran the ball well through the middle. Jamie Chapman looked impossible to stop at times as she brushed off Tigers defenders in yardage. Nikiah Campbell, the five-eighth, put her head down and ran the ball like a middle forward at times. But those strong carries and the fast play-the-ball they generated were followed by errors too often

Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media

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