The Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls will travel to Marsden State High School in Brisbane this Saturday to take on the Souths-Logan Magpies at 3pm in Round 9 of the QRL Hostplus Cup.
The Seagulls are coming off a 28-0 shutout over Northern Pride in horrible conditions last weekend and will be looking to post back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Fullback Paul Turner was outstanding in that game, running for 196 metres to score a try, bust nine tackles, make one linebreak and set up another two in a dominant performance.
Paul’s combination with brother Lee Turner at left centre is fast becoming a focal point of Tweed’s attack, with the pair combining on a few occasions in last week’s big win. Whether in exit sets or on the end of a backline shift in good ball, Paul and Lee are terrorising defenders with their footwork, speed and ballplaying skills. With JJ Collins and Lamar Manuel-Liolevave providing Tweed with plenty of go-forward through the middle and subsequently plenty of space out wide, the Turner brothers are getting more opportunities than ever to use their skills and they will like their chances against a leaky Souths-Logan defence on Saturday.
The Magpies come into Round 9 following a tough 32-0 loss to the Redcliffe Dolphins last Saturday. Dolphins halfback Cody Hunter was on fire in that game and the Magpies had no answer despite several players with NRL experience bolstering the Souths-Logan lineup. The Magpies are chasing just their second win of the season and are not to be underestimated on Saturday.
Player to Watch
While Paul and Lee Turner dominated the highlights reel last week, it was the work of edge forward Joshua Patston that dominated my notepad. The promising backrower has played out six games on the left edge for Tweed so far this year for an average 101 running metres and a tackle efficiency of 95%. He was profiling as a safe-as-houses, no-frills edge forward but Patston showcased some nice skill of his own against Pride in Round 8.
This was one of two linebreaks Patston was involved in last weekend. He shows great energy and intent to push up in support in both instances, and in this case he finds himself at left wing to receive a lovely offload from Lee Turner and streak into the backfield. Patston then puts on some footwork teammate Paul Turner would’ve been happy with to beat the fullback, and we’ll blame the slippery conditions for a little stumble at the end that cruels Patston’s scoring chances.
Named in the backrow on a strong left edge for Tweed again in Round 9, Patston is a fair crack at scoring his second try of the season on last week’s form.
Team List
- Paul Turner
- Sosefo Fifita
- Lee Turner
- Scott Galeano
- Ryland Jacobs
- Will Brimson
- Lindon McGrady
- JJ Collins
- Craig Garvey
- Lamar Manuel-Liolevave
- Joshua Patson
- Reuben Porter
- Braden Robson
- Blake Scott
- Harrison Muller
- Daniel Ross
- Ioane Seiuli
Coach: Ben Woolf
Coach’s Comments
Defence continues to be a major focus for Head Coach Ben Woolf this season, and he was particularly pleased with his side’s efforts last week.
“The defensive effort was great last weekend. To only miss five tackles all game was a huge improvement on the Wynnum game,” Woolf said.
“Souths-Logan have a lot of strike across the park so we are going to have to defend well again. That has been our main focus this week.”
Match Details
Round 9 v Souths-Logan Magpies
Saturday 21st May @ Marsden State High School, Brisbane
Kick-off: 6pm
Streaming via QPlus.tv (subscription required)
Written by Jason Oliver, Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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