THE Tweed Heads Seagulls overcame a strong start from the opposing CQ Capras to record a 35-24 result at Piggabeen yesterday afternoon.
The Capras have made a habit of starting well in their games – however, for much of the year, they have been unable to hold on to that advantage.
For the Seagulls however, it was a good fight back following some scrappy play early which included them dropping the football during their first set – with the win seeing them go 12 games in a row without a loss.
This weekend, the second-placed Gulls will travel to Cairns to take on the Northern Pride in a 1 v 2 match – and they Pride will not give them the same latitude in front of their home fans.
In a bustling start, the Capras got out to an early 6-0 lead with Hughie Stanley scoring off a Shannon Rupapere short side kick before Peter Gallen – who was playing in his 50th Intrust Super Cup game – scored another try for the visitors – putting them out to 12-0 lead after 14 minutes.
However, this sparked the home side into action. The Gulls posted four tries before halftime, including three in the seven minutes before the break to Jamal Fogarty chasing through a grubber, Michael Burgess running in under the posts on the last tackle and another with 50 seconds left on the clock following a fumble from the Capras.
After a sluggish start, the home side managed to turn around the early deficient to take a 22-12 lead into the halftime break.
They continued their charge in the second half to go on and win the match – despite a hat-trick from Stanley who was playing his first game in the centres.
There were strong performances across the park for Tweed Heads, including from Fogarty – who scored a try and booted five goals and a last-minute field goal to his tally to bring up 15 points for the match and bring his season tally to 81.
Despite the loss, it was a good performance from the Capras who blooded three debutants in Rajan Opetaia-Halls, Mitch Hallinan and Garrett Field.
This weekend, the Capras will take their home game against the Sunshine Coast to Marley Brown Oval in Gladstone.
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 35 (Michael Burgess 2, Jamal Fogarty, Damian Sironen, Cory Blair, Ricardo Parata tries; Jamal Fogarty 5 goals; Jamal Fogarty field goal) def CQ CAPRAS 24 (Hughie Stanley 3, Peter Gallen tries; Ian Webster 3, Shannon Rupapere goals) at Piggabeen Sports.
Final teams:
Tweed Heads Seagulls: 1. Jamal Fogarty 2. Blake Anderson 3. Luke Dumas 4. James Wood (c) 5. Tom Merritt 6. Sam Irwin 7. Michael Burgess 8. Pele Peletelese 9. Matt King (c) 10. Damian Sironen 11. Cory Blair 12. Tom Kingston 13. Sam Saville 14. Ricardo Parata 15. Trent Richardson 16. Ayden Lee 17. Reg Saunders
CQ Capras: 1. Reece Baker 15. Russell Webber 3. Mitch Hallinan 4. Hughie Stanley 5. Rhys Williams 6. Ian Webster 7. Shannon Rupapere 8. Rajan Opetaia-Halls 9. Tom McKenzie 10. Peter Gallen 11. Andrew Dale 12. Guy Williams 13. Gavin Hiscox (c) 21. Matt Mizzi 16. Arlin Paki 17. Mitch Zornig 20. Garret Fields
