Published On: 19 May, 2019Categories: General

Neil Cadigan

The Ben Campbell Building Group Seagulls took another step towards proving they are genuine top four candidates when they beat Easts Tigers at Langlands Park in Brisbane yesterday, their third straight victory.

Ben Woolf’s team claimed another scalp of a team above them on the ladder with the 16-4 victory, coming off the bye and the previous round’s 36-8 thumping of Norths Devils. Both top three teams only scored three tries between them.

While coach Woolf felt the Seagulls attack could have been sharper, it is the fifth time in 10 games this season that the team’s defence has restricted their opponents to two tries or less and this defensive attitude has been the cornerstone of the results.

The tough attitude of the pack, led by the experienced John Palavi, extends to the bench where the side losing nothing through the interchange – another strong feature of this year’s improved performances.

The win will most likely put the Gulls in sixth position on for-and-against but equal third on competition points, four behind unbeaten leaders Sunshine Coast and two behind second-placed Burleigh Bears.

The long-intended switch of Christian Hazard to hooker, where he worked in tandem with Jack Cook, worked well and he constantly troubled the Tigers’ defence.

Hazard’s strong role emphasised the versatility Woolf has in the ‘spine’. He was dynamic early in the game out of dummy half and had the Tigers constantly on the back foot, and the Gulls were good enough to take advantage.

Luke Jurd started at five-eighth but, after playing a major role with his communication and game management, went off injured in the 42nd minute with what might be a serious hamstring tear. Lindon McGrady reverted from fullback to his former No. 6 position and Talor Walters went to fullback where he has impressed most of this season, and Lamare Liolevave in the centres.

With Ryley Jacks controlling play at halfback, the Gulls continued to function well even though it was Jacks’ first time with the team since round seven.

“Christian really took it to Easts and gave us the momentum to dominate them early,” said Woolf.

“We probably could have scored more points with the amount of possession and opportunities we generated in the first half but, to their credit, Easts scrambled well.

“We concentrated on getting through our sets in the second half and aiming up defensively and we did that pretty well, really restricting our errors, so overall it was a pretty good performance.”

“‘Jacksy’ (Ryley Jacks) hadn’t played for a month so we’ve had a few different halves combinations but as he gets more time with the team, and the fact we can use Lindon or Christian in the halves if Jurdy is out for a while, gives us plenty of options and that has been a really plus for us this season.

“When we had to switch the backs around when Jurdy went off, the players had spent plenty of time in those positions.

“It was a great effort by the boys again, right across the park.”

A feature of the match was Jacks going up against his older brother Rhys in the halves.

Ryley put on the first try of the match, for left winger Ryland Jacobs, with a smart flat ball.

Just three minutes later, centre Treymain Spry crossed for the first of his two tries, a tremendous 70-metre effort created by Kalani Going. Going squeezed between two defenders and offloaded to Spry who came to fullback Matt Cooper and beat him before running away.

McGrady’s conversion taking the score to 10-0 after 14 minutes, an impressive start for the Gulls who were decidedly on top of their opponents.

The game became a physical arm-wrestle until the Tigers, after bending the Seagulls’ line several times, struck back with a try to lock Tyrone Amey in the 32nd minute. The score remained 10-4 at half-time.

With 17 minutes remaining, Easts failed to find touch with a penalty kick and the Seagulls took advantage to seal the game.

Jacks put up a perfect ‘bomb’ inside the Tigers’ half, kicking across-field from the left, and Ioane Seiuli tapped the ball back to Leilani Latu who gave Spry a clear run to the line. McGrady missed the conversion but a penalty in the final minute took the score to 16-4.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Tweed Heads Seagulls 16 (Spry 2, Jacobs tries; McGrady 2 goals) def. Easts Tigers 4 (Amy try) at Suzuki Stadium (Langlands Park).