Round 6 Match Review – QRL Hostplus Cup vs Townsville Blackhawks

Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, needed all 80 minutes to beat the Townsville Blackhawks but return home on the back of a comeback 28-26 win.

A strong yardage game and the defence it created allowed the Blackhawks to play with the territory advantage early on. They looked most likely to open the scoring when forcing a repeat set in the 5th minute. However, having defended back-to-back sets, Tweed earned a relieving penalty to move up the field and into a position for Lee Turner to open the scoring.

Receiving the ball isolated onto his opposite, Lee skipped to his outside, put on a fend and put the visitors in front 6-0 after eight minutes.

The six-point lead was short-lived, though.

A horror bounce from the kickoff forced Ryland Jacobs to work from out of his own goal line. With a full head of steam up, the defence forced an error out of the Tweed winger to make it 6-4 just a minute later.

The Blackhawks looked to make the most of their opportunistic try by searching down the edges for easy metres in yardage. With a forward pass turning over possession, Tweed had their own chance to strike.

Enter: Tom Weaver.

On fire in recent weeks, Weaver caught the Blackhawks defence creeping in before finding Kaleb Ngamanu on the wing with a marvellous harbour bridge pass over three defenders.

Townsville provided Tweed with more opportunities to extend their lead. A penalty out of yardage kicked the visitors back up the field. Working it out themselves, Townsville turned the ball over on the last just 40 metres from their own line.

Weaver and Lindon McGrady asked some questions down the left edge but the Blackhawks had the answers as both sides managed to maintain possession and get into an error and penalty-free rhythm.

The Blackhawks managed to turn their moment close to the line into points in the 29th minute. Just after McGrady held the ball up down their right edge, the home side looked left and found Zac Laybutt for a 12-10 lead.

Sam McIntyre appeared to have put Tweed back in front shortly after. He pushed through a tackle on his knees before reaching out for the line. The referee, however, saw an elbow touch the surface before the ball was promoted. Nonetheless, that lead soon returned for Tweed. As had been the case throughout the match for both sides, a relieving penalty turned into points.

McIntyre’s ball playing through the middle allowed the Seagulls to play with width all the way up the field throughout the match. His shift as the Seagulls crossed halfway saw McGrady step inside and put Jacob McCudden through a gap. Unable to ice the pass to Weaver pushing up in support, Oskar Bryant cleaned up the scraps for Jacobs to score shortly before halftime.

A Blackhawks penalty goal as the siren sounded ticked the scoreboard over once more, but the 16-14 Seagulls lead provided a fair reflection of a first half that saw Tweed create plenty of opportunities all the way up the field.

McCudden being sent to the sin bin in the 47th minute put some pressure on the Seagulls but the defence held firm throughout his ten-minute absence. The Blackhawks spent a lot of their time shifting the ball from side to side and the Seagulls defence slid across in cover to keep them out. It wasn’t until McCudden returned that the Blackhawks crossed the line.

Twice in quick succession.

First Patrick Kaufusi latched onto a Ben Hampton grubber. Robert Derby then returned the kickoff to the house for the Blackhawks to pull 26-16 in front with 15 minutes to play.

Tweed needed an answer and quickly looked to an approach that had proven successful already today and a number of times this season. A shift through McIntyre over halfway moved Tweed up the field and into a position to fire a shot.

Weaver, Woolf, McGrady and Brimson.

The spine linked up all the way across the field for Brimson to turn half a break into a try in the corner.

McGrady couldn’t split the post from the left sideline but it wasn’t long before he was lining another one up on the right.

Ioane Seiuli drew a penalty out of Kaufusi to kick Tweed into good ball. Seiuli went close to scoring himself. But following a long shift to the left, the visitors moved the ball back to the right edge. Luke Burton’s strong carry 60 seconds earlier remained in the memory of the Blackhawks defence as his decoy line dragged the four-in defender putting Weaver on the outside. Holding the ball up before passing with expert precision, McGrady passed out to a two-on-one situation for Ngamanu to score in the corner.

The Prince of Piggabeen didn’t need to see the ball sail through the posts the second time. He was already heading back to his side of halfway when the touch judges signalled a 26-all scoreline with four minutes left on the clock.

Tweed have been on the wrong side of this situation twice already this season but the third time proved to be the charm.

Weaver had already shaped to take one field goal, and with the defence quick to get out on him when taking the ball next time, Hampton caught him high. Cool as you like and in the final act of the match, McGrady kicked the goal to secure a comeback 26-24 win.

Playing the full 80 minutes, whether from in front or behind has been a constant theme this season and Tweed were rewarded for their resilience in this one. They now have some extra time to rest and recover with a Round 7 bye before hosting the Western Clydesdales in Round 8.

Key Takeaways

Oskar Bryant’s development continues to be a fascinating aspect of this Seagulls side. Coming off the bench this week, he was able to jump out from dummy half and engage tired markers before moving the ball on. His actions from dummy half paid dividends out wide where Tweed regularly found space.

It’s the finer details Dave Penna is working with him on as he gains experience in the grade, though.

“We’re just trying to help the young players work on game management. Oskar is getting better in that area every game.”

Coaches Comments

Having suffered two close defeats late in the contest this season, Coach Dave Penna was particularly happy with how the team rallied back from behind.

“I was really proud of our defensive effort and the comeback,” Penna said.

Among plenty of others, Sam McIntyre played a key role in the comeback both in yardage and good ball.

“Sam is a fantastic player,” Penna said.

“We are really lucky to have him in the side.”