The torrential downpour and the performance of young half Kane Elgey were the topics on everyone’s lips following the Tweed Heads Seagulls impressive 34-10 win over Norths Devils at Piggabeen Sports Complex yesterday.
While it was damp from the kick-off, no one would have suspected the weather to come – with both teams showing great spirit to give their all on the sodden field.
Crafty halfback Darren Nicholls started things well for the visiting side who were first on the board before good footwork for versatile centre Davin Crampton saw the home side level the scores.
Crampton was one of the stars for the Gulls, adding two more tries in the second half for his hat trick while fellow Titans-contracted player Elgey also gained high praise for his involvement.
He took a while to find his rhythm with makeshift halves partner Ricardo Parata, but once they gelled; Elgey’s touches helped change the game, in both scoring tries and setting up others.
He scored the next four-pointer of the match to give Tweed Heads a 12-6 advantage going into halftime in weather where any sort of lead was a precious commodity.
After the break, Crampton was quick to get his second before Norths pegged back the deficit with Kainga Turner grounding the ball in a large puddle to give his side hope of keeping their unbeaten run alive.
However, from then on it was all one-way traffic as the Gulls ran in more tries, including a second to Elgey which came from another good break downfield from big winger Leva Li and a third to Crampton.
The Seagulls played last week almost without a bench, with injuries reducing them to a one-man rotation, and tellingly, it was the performances from the bench that helped win it for them this week.
The starting forwards were powerful and the home side lost nothing when players like Agnatius Paasi and Mark Offerdahl (who seemed to enjoy the weather judging from his swan dive into a waterlogged in-goal following his try) came onto the field.
This weekend, the Seagulls will face a new challenge when they head over to PNG to face the Hunters, while the Devils will be in the more familiar surroundings of Bishop Park when they host the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Channel 9 televised match on Sunday.
TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 34 (Davin Crampton 3, Kane Elgey 2, Mark Offerdahl tries; Kane Elgey 5 goals) def NORTHS DEVILS 10 (Kainga Turner, Darren Nicholls tries; Darren Nicholls goal) at Piggabeen Sports Complex
Final Teams
Tweed Heads Seagulls
1. Shaun Carney 2. Blake Anderson 3. James Wood (c) 4. Davin Crampton 5. Leva Li 6. Ricardo Parata 7. Kane Elgey 8. Damian Sironen 9. Matt Srama 10. Hemi Mullen 11. Mark Offerdahl 12. Dane Clarke 13. Sam Saville 14. Jai Ingram 15. Matt Robinson 16. Agnatius Paasi 17. Kalifa Faifai Loa
Norths Devils
1. Luke Pollock 2. Kainga Turner 3. Steve Elliott 4. Dylan Galloway 5. Michael Lucas 6. Sam Foster 7. Darren Nicholls (c) 8. Richard Tuala 9. Krys Freeman 10. Francis Molo 17. Mark Vaiao 12. Rogan Dean 13. Chris Faust 14. Byron Creighton 15. Matt Mizzi 16. Josh Afoa 19. Rhett Webster
