The Gold Coast Airport Tweed Seagulls played host to the Souths Logan Magpies in Round 6. Despite a promising first half that saw the home side go into the sheds 8-6 behind, the visitors piled up the points after halftime to run out 36-6 victors at Piggabeen Sports Complex, Piggabeen.
Paige Parker demanded the ball early as Tweed looked to apply pressure on the Souths Logan line. She rolled one in behind to force the visitors to travel 99 metres in return. On the following set, she was some Daisy Gordon hands away from sending the winger down the sideline but the ball trickled into touch to put an end to the attacking raid. Defending their own line for a set, a relieving penalty again put the Seagulls into attacking position. Again Parker played her part to put up a towering bomb that ended with Evania Pelite dropping the ball over the line for a repeat set.
However, Tweed couldn’t make the most of the territory and possession – a theme that plagued them throughout the match. A penalty to get out of their own end sent Souths Logan on a path up the field that ended with the first points of the afternoon in the 13th minute. Finding space down the left edge through a second phase, Jodeci Nicholson went back to the same edge against a scrambled line a tackle later with Kalisi Longopoa going over in the corner.
Souths Logan returned to good ball six minutes later with a Tweed error presenting them with an attacking scrum. Shifting the ball back to the left edge again, Longopoa bagged a second to push the visitors’ lead out to 8-0 in the 21st minute.
The Magpies threatened again not long after but the Seagulls managed to turn them away and play themselves back into the game. Jamie Chapman, as she has done all season, put her hand up for a tough carry out of yardage to start the set well. Parker finished it with a handy kick into the corner.
Daisy Gordon broke into the backfield with a show-and-go on the following set but couldn’t find the support to ice the opportunity. She iced the next one, though.
Cleaning up a Parker grubber on the last, Gordon circled back to the middle of the field, chipped in behind the line and collected the ball to score under the posts.
Just like that, the Seagulls received reward from a strong first half to go into the sheds only 8-6 behind.
Tweed opened the second half by setting up deep for a wide-ranging right shift as they crossed halfway. A nice Jetaya Faifua short ball sent Zara Canfield through half a gap only for the officials to call it forward. In response, Souths Logan kept it tight and repeatedly hit Tweeds left edge defence. Following Kiia Parata and Tyesha Mikaio carries, Brittany Breayley-Nati spotted the home side short on the edge to get Baylee Davies over for a 14-6 lead shortly after the break.
Like the first half, the Magpies piled up points in quick succession. Jasmine Fogavini broke through the middle to force a late tackle out of Chapman out the back. With the defence unable to track back, Souths Logan went back to what worked down the right side for Mikaio to make it 18-6 in the 42nd minute.
Tweed defended well to stop the flow of points to hold the Magpies out across back-to-back-to-back sets on their line. Running and kicking into the wind made it difficult to play themselves into attacking position, though.
In the end, the Magpies played with superior possession and field position in the second half. Two of their stars, Steph Hancock and Evania Pelite, linked up for the left edge to score.
First, a Hancock offload created the second phase before Pelite made the most of a sliding defensive line to send Shellie Long over in the 47th minute. Ten minutes later, Hancock and Pelite combined again for Longopoa to score her third of the afternoon. Just the threat of a Hancock offload compressed the defence which opened the space for Pelite to fire the long pass wide for Longopoa to dot down.
What looked like a sure consolation try for the Seagulls ended with the Magpies scoring one more before full time for the visitors to make the most of a strong second half. While there were positive signs throughout the first half as the defence held firm, Tweed couldn’t hold the ball for long enough in the second half to threaten the line. Souths Logan takes the chocolates with the 36-6 win.
Key Takeaways
Paige Parker’s kicking game stood out as a massive advantage early on for the home side. Where the Magpies struggled to find touch on a kick for touch more than once, Parker kicked the Seagulls into attacking areas. Forcing repeat sets close to the line and kicking in behind the back three in yardage, she capped off attacking raids and kicked Tweed out of trouble with the breeze at her back in the first half. Earlier into sets her running game threatened and created half-opportunities out wide.
Ellie Williamson provided a promising spark off the bench again this week. Alternating between spells at dummy half, as a ball carrier through the middle and finishing in the halves, her quick feet moved Tweed up the field. No carry was easy for the home side against the breeze in the second half but her late footwork put them on the front fleetingly. Her carries and overall versatility are valuable assets off the bench as she continues to improve with every appearance.
Related Posts
