The Campbell Construction Co. Tweed Seagulls and Souths-Logan Magpies will meet at Marsden State High School this Saturday, 25th June at 3pm for their rescheduled Round 9 meeting.
The Seagulls are coming off a disappointing 24-22 point loss to the Mackay Cutters in Round 12 but will welcome the chance to quickly bounce back this weekend.
Tweed’s attention to detail on both sides of the ball was tested by the Cutters last week, making 13 errors to complete at just 66% – a far cry from their 72% season average – and missing 37 tackles, up significantly from their 17.7 per game so far in 2022.
With ill discipline gifting the Cutters free field position right from the kick off, the Seagulls simply made it too hard for themselves against Mackay last week. In most key stat areas in Round 12 Tweed performed considerably worse than their season average, but on a more positive note most of those issues are easily addressed. With some minor adjustments and a little more concentration this week, Tweed can get back to what has worked for them so far in 2022 – running hard to collapse the middle before shifting smoothly to the edges.
The Seagulls will need to navigate the absence of JoJo Fifita & Kaleb Ngamanu (QLD U19’s), Lamar Manuel-Liolevave (Fiji Bati) and Rueben Porter (Cook Islands) this week, who are all on representative duties. All four have been key contributors for Tweed this year and are difficult players to replace, but the Seagulls’ depth has been tested and proven capable already this season and they are well positioned to take on the Magpies on Saturday.
For Souths-Logan, this rescheduled match is a chance to post their second win of the season.
The Magpies haven’t come away with the result in the last month but there has been signs of improvement, with narrow losses to the Northern Pride, PNG Hunters and most recently the Ipswich Jets in Round 12.
The 18-26 loss to the Jets will have hurt Souths-Logan the most, given just one competition point now seperates both sides on the premiership ladder. The Magpies will be desperate to respond after that loss and get a chance to do so this Saturday.
The last time these sides met was in Round 12 last year, with the Magpies coming away 38-28 winners in a high scoring affair.
Broncos’ half Ezra Mam was in rare touch for the Magpies in that game, scoring a hattrick and kicking six from six off the tee. For Tweed, prop-forward JJ Collins stood tallest with a team-high 186 running metres in that game and will need to do so again on Saturday with his prop partner Manuel-Liolevave on rep duty.
Player to Watch
As mentioned above, the Seagulls will lean heavily on JJ Collins through the middle this week with a number of key yardage men missing from the squad.
Collins had an off game by his standards last week against Mackay but profiles well to respond with a standout performance on Saturday. He rarely has back-to-back quiet games and can put this Tweed side on his back against the Magpies this weekend.
If Collins can bend the line and generate some ruck speed it will allow Braden Robson to come into the game.
Robson’s combination of footwork and short passing one-off the ruck will cause some problems for Souths-Logan if Collins can get them retreating. The Magpies conceded three of their four tries last week through the middle third of the field – an area of strength for the Seagulls in 2022 with the one-two punch of Scott and Craig Garvey at hooker and the creative threat of Robson at first receiver.
If Souths-Logan tighten up through the middle in response, look for Robson to link with his halves on the edges in good ball.
Big Ioane Seiuli gets another start in the centres this week with JoJo Fifita and Kaleb Ngamanu in the U19’s Maroons squad, and will surely be a target for McGrady close to the line on Tweed’s right edge. Scott Galeano has been doing a fine job there so far this season but finds himself on the wing this week outside the 191cm, 95kg Seiuli, who will like his chances of either running straight through the Magpies’ goal-line defence or compressing it with a decoy to create space for Galeano or fullback Ryland Jacobs.
Coach’s Comments
Head Coach Ben Woolf says Tweed’s discipline must improve as they look to bounce back after last week.
“It will be good to respond quickly after last week,” said Woolf.
“We just need to be more disciplined. Our attack and defence were both OK, just a lack of possession due to poor discipline let us down. So we will be looking to improve there this week.”
Woolf also paid tribute to his representative stars who are unavailable for the Seagulls this week.
“It’s great for Lamar, JoJo, Reuben and Kaleb to get their opportunities in the rep games,” said Woolf.
“We will prep as normal and it will just be the next player up in those positions. JoJo and Kaleb were both out last week so Barnsey will get another go which is great for him personally.”
Ben Liyou was first introduced into the Future Titans system at 13, he’s currently playing in the Hastings Deering Colts U21’s and has played through our U18s Mal Meninga cup and will make his debut up against men today.
We will also see Reece Summer make his debut for the butcher stripes after coming over from cross-town rivals Burleigh Bears to join his little brother Tom Summer who plays in our U16’s Cyril Connell.
Team List
- Ryland Jacobs
- Brent Barnes
- Lee Turner
- Ioane Seiuli
- Scott Galeano
- Brent Woolf
- Lindon McGrady
- JJ Collins
- Blake Scott
- Daniel Ross
- Joshua Patson
- Klese Haas
- Braden Robson
- Craig Garvey
- Reece Summer
- Ben Liyou
- Charlie Murray
Coach: Ben Woolf
Match Details
Round 9 (rescheduled) v Souths-Logan Magpies
Saturday 25th June @ Marsden State High School, Brisbane
Kick-off: 3pm
Streaming via QPlus.tv (subscription required)
Written by Jason Oliver, Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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