The BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls ventured north to Rockhampton on Saturday, coming home successful after a 36-18 win over the Central Queensland Capras.
Headlining the score sheet was Broncos affiliate Salesi Funaki who’s 15-minute treble (53rd, 63rd and 68th minutes) contributed notably to the Seagulls’ dominant closing half.
“They were strong down the right edge” said coach Adam Brideson, who noted Will Brimson’s hand in the Funaki hat-trick.
“It was a matter of us controlling their middle, which gave Brimson and Funaki a fair bit of time with the footy and you saw the result – Salesi was outstanding”.
Highlights: Capras v Wynnum Manly
The first half had the slight edge to the Capras, who again ventured down the left edge regularly, after finding plenty of success that way back in round 8 against Wynnum.
Central Queensland’s Ken Tofilau strolled over in the corner from a carefully selected Tony Tumusa cutout pass in the 12th minute; whilst Vic Halfpenny also hit pay-dirt in the same corner after pouncing on a loose ball in the 32nd.
Poor fielding also bounced in favour for Wynnum, Jeriah Goodrich getting over for Wynnum in the first half courtesy of a dropped mid-field bomb.
The Capras would earn the lead before halftime though, after sending grubber kicks down the left all first half, Reece Baker opted to bomb it to the right-hand corner allowing Chanel Seigafo to show off his aerial ability for a spectacular try to close the half.
Second half
Mistakes limited the Capras in the first 10 minutes after halftime, although they almost made the most of the little field position when Reece Baker and Jack Madden combined sweetly only to be stopped by a Daniel Ogden try-saver.
Later Mitchell Frei would put in the grubber that would lead to the repeat set containing the first of Funaki’s hat-trick.
This kick started a dominant 15-minute period where young utility Will Brimson served up another two tries to Funaki down the right edge in addition to his own first-half try.
Highlights from other weekend matches
The Capras would turn the tide, riding a penalty to ultimately generate a Maipele Morseau try, but the dagger would come seven minutes later with an electrifying 80m individual effort by Wynnum winger Jack Goodsell.
Coming up just short last week against Souths, Brideson was grateful to have his team’s effort this week result in a win.
“We played really well last week and didn’t come away with the result, so to go up there with the same effort and come away with the result is really important” said Brideson.
Wynnum Manly have a tall order against Redcliffe on the road this weekend, whilst the Capras have a date with the Mackay Cutters.
>> See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game at QRL Live