The Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls used a flurry of points in the second half to beat Souths Logan Magpies 42-24 at Marsden State High School, Brisbane.
Both sides produced early errors as the opening ten minutes proved to be a stop-start affair but from there, the points started to flow.
Having defended repeat sets on their own line the Magpies worked their way up the field one-off the ruck before a Tristan Sailor kick turned into points. Some indecision at the back between Ryland Jacobs and Scott Galeano ended up with a bouncing ball for Ethan Quai-Ward to collect and open the scoring.
It didn’t take long for the Seagulls to respond, though. Jacobs had found success down the right side once already in the match before stepping through the line and past the fullback to score in the 15th minute. This his fourth consecutive game at fullback, the 26-year-old is looking comfortable with the ball and proving to be a consistent threat in attack. Down the right edge, in particular.
As the game worked into a grind the Tweed middle defence made things difficult for Souths Logan to get up the field. Regularly forcing a kick from the 40-metre line, the Seagulls won the field position battle throughout the middle stages of the first half and eventually pulled out in front.
An escort penalty provided Tweed with an opportunity to attack the Souths Logan line. Charlie Murray went close as he was held up over the line but Joshua Patston dotted down on the very next tackle. A pin-point Lindon McGrady grubber sat up perfectly for Patston to to give the Seagulls a 12-6 lead after 30 minutes.
It looked as though Tweed would extend their lead as Craig Garvey made half a break before being dragged down just short of the line. However, it was Souths Logan who added to the scoreboard just before oranges as Justin Fai followed up a Benaiah Bowie linebreak to level things up at 12-12.
A Sailor penalty goal put Souths Logan in front shortly after halftime but the lead didn’t last long. Three Tweed tries in eight minutes blew the game open as the dominance in the middle and field position advantage translated into points.
Scott Galeano scored his sixth try of the Hostplus Cup season as reward for pushing up in support with Garvey through the middle. The Seagulls hooker caught one marker on the ground and the other offside to get up the field and into the backfield. Drawing the fullback, he sent Galeano over for a 18-14 lead.
Patston scored his second to finish the following set. McGrady’s boot again acted as the catalyst but Patston didn’t need a perfect bounce this time. Instead, he rose above the Souths Logan winger to defuse the bomb and crash over the line.
The home side added insult to injury when putting the kickoff out on the full to give Tweed a third consecutive set attacking the line. A Charlie Murray error released pressure but only for a moment. Tweed soon found themselves back on the front foot and as he had done twice already in this one, Patston crossed the line for his third of the afternoon and a 30-14 lead.
Brent Woolf threatened on the end of a long-side shift to the left edge which scattered the Magpies defensive line. Spotting the retreating defender at marker, Patston stepped through an arms tackle with relative ease before casting aside three defenders on his way to the line.
Souths Logan threatened a comeback when Bowie crossed the line in the 63rd minute. A superb double-pump from Bradley Firth as Kelly Tate dragged the defence across opened up a gap for Bowie to skip through to score and cut the deficit to 30-20. However, Tweed made sure of the result five minutes later.
In the minds of the opposition right edge with three tries already, Patston’s decoy off McGrady’s hip dragged the defence in to create space out wide. It took some silky hands from Brent Woolf to beat the jamming defence but the ball ended up with Lee Turner who put the game beyond doubt at 36-20 with 11 minutes to play.
A Souths Logan consolation try late in the piece closed the gap to 36-24 but Galeno added another for Tweed as the siren sounded for full time. A month after it was due to be played, the Seagulls took the chocolates in this Round 9 fixture with a big 42-24 win.
Key Takeaways
The Tweed middle did the hard work early and it paid off in the second half. Even without Lamar Manuel-Liolevave who is away with Fiji Bati, the Tweed pack still dominated their opposition. Strong with the ball in hand, it was the middle defence that won the match. Souths Logan were often forced to kick from inside their own half which allowed Ryland Jacobs and the Tweed back-three to return the ball at pace to start the return set.
Charlie Murray is proving to be a valuable contributor off the bench for coach Ben Woolf. He’s a high-energy middle and did an excellent job of covering the minutes JJ Collins spent on the bench in this one. A strong carrier of the ball, Murray torpedoes himself at the defensive line. His quick play-the-balls provide Craig Garvey with the platform he needs to dominate from dummy half.
Brent Barnes again impressed in his second game for the top side. The youngster is a big unit and breaks tackles when returning the football. He’s not had too many opportunities close to the line but will be tough to stop when charging towards the corner.
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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