Neil Cadigan
The Tweed Seagulls can lay claim to being the best under-age statewide team in Queensland after securing back-to-back Mal Meninga Cup (under-18) titles with a 30-24 victory over the previously unbeaten Townsville Blackhawks on the Blackhawks’ home soil yesterday.
In a pulsating game of brilliant attack and desperate defence, the underdog Seagulls were inspired to lift themselves for absent forward leader Jack Cullen, their family group of supporters who had to abandon their trip to Townsville on the morning of the game because of a flight delay and the strong mateship within Tim Maccan’s squad.
Tweed conceded a try in the first minute to be 6-0 behind before touching the ball but led 20-6 just 20 minutes later and 20-12 at half-time. Yet they had to come from 24-20 behind with seven minutes remaining to match the feat of the 2019 side that went on to become national champions.
The players ran out with the name of their mate ‘Cully’ written on their wrists in a message to take the trophy home to Cullen, the competition’s leading metre-eater who was controversially suspended for a “probable crusher tackle” in the semi-final win against Souths Logan.
They were faced with a setback, however, in the first set of the match when Blackhawks prop Damon Marshall split the right edge defence open and sent halfback Tom Duffy in for a try.
After absorbing a lot of pressure in the next 10 minutes, the Seagulls’ response was emphatic when it began in the 12th minute on the back of a neat grubber into the in-goal from five-eighth half Harradyn Wilson that gained repeat possession from a line-dropout.
Right centre Deine Mariner soon after showed great footwork and desire to make the line from dummy-half to put the Seagulls on the scoreboard.
During the next set from the kick-off outstanding hooker Oscar Bryant busted the defence line wide open from dummy half from inside Tweed’s half and head-geared fullback Jaylan De Groot pushed up brilliantly to finish off a 70-metre raid by crossing under the posts.
At the 20-minute mark, Wilson laid on a pin-point pass at the line to put second-rower Brock Priestley through a narrow gap 10 metres out and his try was converted by halfback and skipper Tom Weaver for an 18-6 lead.
A Weaver penalty goal made it 20-6 before Blackhawks hooker Tyreice Baira-Gela burrowed through the middle of the ruck after talking a tap restart just over a minute before the break to give Townsville renewed confidence, going into the sheds at 20-12.
It was Baira-Gela who found the line again after a scoreless 26 minute period of the second half with a determined run from dummy half close to the line that gave him a try under the posts. And the vocal home crowd thought the Blackhawks had the trophy in their keeping when Dudley Dotoi scored four tackles into their set after the kick-off.
Townsville marched upfield strongly and Dotoi brilliantly moved infield after a shift to the left to put the ball down under the posts. Harley Taylor’s conversion gave the home team the lead at 24-20 and left the Seagulls just seven minutes to regain the Queensland under-18 crown.
The inspiration came from fullback De Groot with four minutes remaining when he broke through on the kick-return that began 10 metres from his goal-line. After a shift to the right that took Tweed within 10 metres of the Blackhawks’ line, with the home side down a man struggling with cramp, interchange hooker Blake Mozer sighted space on his left and darted over on the fourth tackle with two and a half minutes remaining to level the scores at 24-all.
That left Weaver with a conversion kick 12 metres in from the right touchline to give the Seagulls a piece of history – successive statewide titles after the 2020 season was abandoned after one round. He coolly potted the goal to ice an impressive captain’s playmaking role over the 70 minutes – and shattered the raucous crowd’s mood.
Tweed regained possession when Townsville’s short kick-off did not travel 10 metres and, with seconds on the clock, left centre Kaleb Ngamanu stole the ball from Blackhawks fullback Ragarive Wavik who had gathered in a last-tackle kick from Weaver and Ngamanu strolled over for a bonus try.
Weaver was awarded man of the match honours but the Seagulls were well served across the park without their most dominant forward Cullen, with none better than Bryant and Mozer – who coach Maccan claims are the best two hookers in the competition – and Priestley.
Weaver said appropriately after the match, “We set a goal at the start of the year to be the team in the competition that improved the most every game and we really put in the whole performance in the grand final when it mattered the most.
“I’d like to thank one bloke in particular, our starting front-rower Jack Cullen. He has been our stand-out player all season but got denied an opportunity to play here today. We wrote it on all our wrists to play for Cully today and I think we did him proud.”
Coach Maccan, who took his side to the 2019 title, was relieved as much as related after the match.
“The start wasn’t ideal but games go for a long time, so it was just a case of staying calm, sticking to the plan and knowing there was plenty of time to fix it,” he told qrl.com.au.
“I thought out defence was excellent and I believe we have the two best hookers in the Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup. Mozer and Bryant were just outstanding and I just had to figure out the best way to use them.
“I had to get Mozer back out there to clean up for us and keep tackling and then he came up with that massive play at the end for the try.”
TWEED SEAGULLS 30 (D Mariner, J De Groot, B Priestley, B Mozer, K Ngamanu tries; T Weaver 5 goals) def. TOWNSVILLE BLACKHAWKS 24 (T Baira-Gela 2, T Duffy, D Dotoi tries; T Duffy 2, H Taylor 2 goals)
@ Jack Manski Oval, Townsville
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