Tweed Seagulls RLFC, proudly backed by the Seagulls Club, kick off Round 4 of the Hostplus Cup season with a hotly anticipated rivalry clash against the Burleigh Bears on Saturday afternoon.
A superb first half allowed the Seagulls to build a significant lead on their way to a 32-26 win over the Norths Devils last week. Toby Sexton and Thomas Weaver played behind a forward-moving pack looking to compress the middle, pass deep into the line, and create try-scoring opportunities for those out wide early on.
“I thought Toby and Tom both had great games,” said coach, Dave Penna.
“Their kicking game was great, and they led the team around really well.”
The pair led the team towards the left edge where Tweed found plenty of success early on before finding points down the right side later in the half. Treymain Spry, in particular, continued in his hot start to the year.
Brent Woolf made his return from injury last week and will be better for the run. He kicked off his fifth season at Piggabeen Sports Complex with a 20-tackle stint off the bench and has been named in the same #14 jersey again for Saturday. This week, Klese Haas is back in the side while Sam McIntyre makes his first appearance of the season after featuring four times for Tweed in 2022.
The two Titans affiliates join a Seagulls side that is getting up the field well and firing in attack. Fourth in yardage averaging 1,503 metres per game, Tweed is doing a lot of the hard work post-contact. Their 549 post-contact metres per game lead the competition through four rounds. Ioane Seiuli leads the way for Tweed to rank 2nd in the Hostplus Cup while Lee Turner and Daniel Ross both also rank inside the Top 10.
Meanwhile, the Bears have started the season in fine form to beat the Devils 30-24 in Round 1 and Dolphins 36-10 in Round 3.
Sami Sauiluma scored a double last week while Tony Francis added a team-high 196 running metres off the wing. The Bears boast an exciting backline with 18-year-old Keano Kingi one to watch out for at fullback.
These two played out a 26-26 thriller in Round 17 last season. Tight throughout the 80 minutes, a late try to Guy Hamilton (named in the halves again for this one) levelled the scores in the 74th minute. With Tweed tacking the chocolates in the same round last season, it’s been a long time between celebratory rivalry drinks for Burleigh.
The Bears are averaging 33 points per game to the Seagulls’ 26.6 points to start the 2023 season. No lead, should Tweed be able to build one again this week, will be safe. Two sides capable of piling up points in a hurry, this one is shaping up as a high-scoring affair.
Players To Watch
Sam McIntyre played four times for Tweed last season and always had a positive impact on the attack.
He’s a big body at 190cm and 101kg. His willingness to get up the field translated into 134 running metres per game last year. However, it’s his ability to shift the ball that stood out most. Tweed often search down the edges in yardage, and when a strong ball carrier is compressing the defence in the middle with a good passing game, the space out wide for the speedsters grows.
The 25-year-old brings 37 games of NRL experience to a side that took their foot off the gas after building a big lead last week.
Daniel Ross comes into Round 4 following a stellar performance against the Devils. Leading the team in running metres (152m) and tackles (32), the 28-year-old led from the front and will be tasked with doing much of the same to start on Saturday against Bears props Pride Petterson-Robati and Emry Pere
Coaches Comments
Tweet dealt with a closed field last week but some more wet weather hasn’t put a dampener on the build-up to this one.
“We have had another wet week but the boys are good and preparation has been good as well,” said Penna.
While the Seagulls have built leads over the last two weeks, they’ve given the opposition a sniff at a comeback. It’s something Penna has a focus on ahead of Round 4.
“We are still trying to focus on not putting ourselves under pressure at times in the second half,” Penna said.
“It’s something we just have to keep working on.”
Dan Ross has put in the work himself since arriving at the club in 2021. It’s all starting to pay off after he was recognised as the ABC Building Products Hard as Bricks – Hardest Working Player in Round 3, playing the full 80 minutes.
“Dan is a player that has worked his butt off in the last two years. He now is proving to everyone that he can be a big part of our side in 2023. We will keep an eye on how much time he plays in the next few weeks.”
Written by Rugby League Writers for Tweed Seagulls Media
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