Tweed Heads Seagulls (4th) v Currumbin Eagles (5th): Sunday, April 19, 1.15pm at Piggabeen
Sunday afternoon will be our first glimpse of the 2015 Tweed Seagulls. The Seagulls won’t field a reserve grade or Under 19s team this season, meaning their senior squad will only have to fill Intrust Super Cup and the Coast-2-Coast Earthmoving Cup. The spread of talent won’t be as thin and that could mean an even better Seagulls team for this season. Last year, the Seagulls were one of the competition’s front runners for the first half of the year, but faded in the back half before being eliminated in the first week of the finals. This year they will be intent on being more consistent across the entire year as they look to march up the ladder. Sunday will also be a good test for where Currumbin are at this early stage. The Eagles had a good showing last week against the Tugun Seahawks. Scores were level at halftime and they were within two points with 20 minutes to go. Tugun’s class allowed to score a couple of late tries and pull away, but there was plenty to like for Currumbin in the 24-10 defeat. Back-rower Steve Gillett picked up a try last week for the Eagles and will be hoping to grab another one this week as he lines up against his old club.
Tugun Seahawks (3rd) v Southport Tigers (7th): Sunday, April 19, 2pm at Boyd Street
It’s a replay of the 2013 and 2014 grand finals this Sunday as the Tugun Seahawks take on the Southport Tigers. The venue of this game has been changed from Southport to Tugun’s Boyd Street, which will be music to the ears of Seahawks supporters. Tugun has been near impossible to beat at Boyd Street over the last four years and will be looking to take full advantage of the venue change. They will need it as well, as they are coming off a long losing run to the Tigers. Southport and Tugun met on five occasions last season, including the grand final, and the Seahawks were defeated all five times. Tugun started the year with a good win over Currumbin last week, but a win over the defending champs is the win that would really get their season rolling. Southport Tigers meanwhile find themselves in an unfamiliar position. It’s only round two, but it’s still a surprise to see the defending premiers on the bottom of the ladder. In round one they were thumped, 46-12, by a rampaging Burleigh Bears outfit. The Tigers fielded a new look team on the day, with only three members of their 2014 grand final team lining up last Saturday, and it will take time for that roster to click into top gear. Whether they can find form in time to take on a settled Tugun at their home fortress this Sunday remains to be seen.
Burleigh Bears (1st) v Bilambil Jets (2nd): Sunday, April 19, 2pm at Pizzey Park
The two most impressive teams from round 1 go head-to-head in round 2’s match of the round. Burleigh was on fire last week as they crushed defending champs Southport 46-12. Burleigh’s Coast-2-Coast Earthmoving Cup team is stacked with talent; last week’s line-up included 10 Intrust Super Cup regulars. With that much talent on display and without major injury concerns in their top team, the Bears will start favourites for the majority of games they play this season. One player to watch for the Bears is Tyron Haynes. Haynes missed all of 2014, but earned Queensland Residents honours in 2013. He is a high quality player and is a massive inclusion for the Bears in 2015. The Jets however won’t be intimidated by Burleigh’s roster; they’ve been the competition’s giant killers for a long time. In fact, in the last two seasons the Jets has been the team that has ultimately ended Burleigh’s season. When the Jets met the Bears in both the 2013 and 14 finals series, the Jets were underdogs but managed to will their way to victory over a fancied Burleigh outfit. Can they do it here in round two? If last week’s form is anything to go by, they can. The Jets picked up an impressive 42-24 win over Runaway Bay in round one and have now won eight of their last ten Coast-2-Coast Earthmoving Cup games. They also have their own returning player to watch in Cory Blair. Blair was a member of Bilambil’s 2011 premiership winning squad before moving up to the Intrust Super Cup with the Tweed Seagulls. He returned last week with two tries and will again be a key player for them if they are to challenge the Bears.
Runaway Bay Seagulls – bye
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