Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, are back from the Easter break and preparing for the “Flockbuster” against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls at BMD Kougari Oval, Brisbane in Round 5 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. Kick-off is this Sunday, 16th April at 2:10pm.
The Seagulls will no doubt be desperate to get back out on the field following a heartbreaking defeat to the Burleigh Bears in Round 4. After levelling the scores in the 75th minute to bring at least a draw within touching distance, a 79th-minute penalty goal kicked the Bears to victory.
“The boys worked really hard on staying in the grind,” Penna said after the match.
“It was a tough way to lose. Hard to take.”
Ioane Seiuli continued his impressive start to the season with a team-high 190 running metres against the Bears in Round 4. He still leads the competition in post-contact yardage with 268 metres across his four games. Having shuffled around a few spots to start the year, he has been named to start on the edge this week. It’s arguably where Seiuli played his best football in 2022 and his addition to the pack rounds out a strong forward rotation for Tweed this weekend. Seiuli can hold up defenders with his line running and gravity as a ball carrier, and he’s skilful enough to move the ball to the edge when the occasion calls for it.
Similarly, Tom Weaver is going from strength to strength as he cements his place in the top side. With five try assists in his last two matches, he’s becoming a key feature of the Seagulls’ attack. Toby Sexton’s absence due to injury will keep him from the field for the next six weeks, but coach Penna is lucky enough to have an abundance of ball players to step in. Lindon McGrady’s return from injury, having played last week at fullback, comes at an opportune moment as he prepares to move back into the halves since starting in Round 1. While it may require some time for the duo to establish a solid partnership, the injury to Sexton offers the opportunity for the pair to become more acquainted with each other over the next few rounds.
Meanwhile, Wynnum-Manly are licking Round 4 wounds of their own. Largely cruising through the opening three rounds for three wins at 40 points per game, the Dolphins piled up 36 points to hand the Seagulls their first loss of the season two weeks ago.
Wynnum-Manly has a lot of attacking threats to keep an eye on. Josh Rogers leads the Hostplus Cup in scoring with 46 points while also handing out a competition-high seven try assists. Deine Mariner and his six line breaks this season will be another consideration for Coach Penna and the Tweed defence throughout the week.
We’re roughly one year removed from the last time these two met in a thrilling 72-point game. Again it was Tweed fighting back to draw level late in the piece before a Mathew Lyons try at the death broke the deadlock for Wynnum-Manly to take the chocolates.
Given the attacking output on display from both teams throughout the season so far, we can expect another back-and-forth tussle between the two on Sunday afternoon.
Player To Watch
After making his long-awaited return to the Tweed Seagulls in Round 4, veteran NRL forward Ryan James is named to start at prop this weekend. It was a full-circle moment for James and Tweed when he took the field against the Bears two weeks ago, with the Indigenous All-Star representative having started his QRL playing career with the Tweed Seagulls way back in 2014.
A proud family man off the field and a fierce competitor on it, James’ inclusion in 2023 is an exciting one for the Tweed faithful. With 168 NRL games under the belt, James knows what’s required in the big moments. A reliable yardage merchant and capable of tipping a pass along before the line, James provides Tweed with another big body alongside Lamar Manuel-Liolevave to lock down the pack.
How he combines with Brent Woolf around the ruck this week will go some ways to helping Tweed win the yardage battle through the middle.
Coaches Comments
Head Coach Dave Penna was full of praise for Ryan James this week and says the club is delighted to have him back in the fold.
“He’s so valuable to us,” Penna said.
“Ryan’s commitment and experience has been great to have around training. He talks well and helps out with our younger players.”
“He’s a hard worker, he’s got great principles and we’re blessed to have him back at Tweed this season. He’s been great for us.”
Penna also paid tribute to his players after an improved showing in Round 4 against a skillful Burleigh Bears outfit.
“We’ve been working hard on playing out the full 80 minutes and although we didn’t get the result against the Bears, I thought we made some good progress in that area,” said Penna.
“The boys really knuckled down in defence to limit the strike Burleigh have across the park. To lose it by a penalty in the last minute hurt, but that’s rugby league sometimes.”
“There were moments we can still improve, mainly around our errors and discipline. You can’t be tackling any more than you need to in this comp so that’s something we’re still working on.”
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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