Souths Logan Magpies coach Josh Hannay has praised his side’s mental aptitude following a drought-breaking win over Sunshine Coast Falcons.
The Magpies were outsiders on the road against their more-fancied rivals, but finished with a comprehensive 35-4 victory.
It was the first time the club had enjoyed success since Round 2 against Central Queensland.
In a tough two months, Souths Logan lost six in a row, including matches against competition heavyweights Wynnum Manly, Easts Tigers and Townville Blackhawks in consecutive weeks.
But Hannay said his squad didn’t drop their heads.
“It was a tough period for the club, but the past few weeks I think we’ve shown a lot of growth as a footy side,” he said.
“What was most pleasing about our performance was our pressure in all aspects.”
The recent addition of Brisbane Broncos Under 20s halfback Ashley Taylor has given the Magpies much-needed direction and control in attack.
In his second Intrust Super Cup appearance, the 20-year-old’s kicking game was a key to victory in blustery conditions.
“He’s made the transition seamlessly … Ash has such a mature head on his shoulders and physically he’s handling the step up really well,” Hannay said.
“Aside from his kicking game he’s got that piece of individual brilliance about him as well.”
Rookie Magpies winger Samisoni Vaioleti was another to impress, with the Colts graduate scoring the first hat-trick of his burgeoning career.
“They weren’t tries where he just fell over the line,” Hannay said.
“One was 100m and another was a classic winger’s try where he took out the corner post, but managed to keep himself in play.
“It was a real coming-of-age performance.”
Running into a fierce breeze, the Magpies crossed twice for a 12-0 lead at halftime.
However, the Falcons hit back after the break when Tony Tumusa crashed over.
But from that moment it was all one-way traffic as Souths Logan ran in four unanswered tries.
Taylor snapped a late field goal to put the exclamation mark on a dominant performance that sees Souths Logan just two wins shy of sixth place.
Their next assignment is the Norths Devils at home next Sunday, while the Falcons face Easts Tigers at Tapout Energy Stadium.
SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES 35 (Samisoni Vaioleti 3, Josh Damen, Matt Trnka, Joe Boyce tries; Scott Doyle 5 goals; Ashley Taylor field goal) def SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 4 (Tony Tumusa try) at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Final Teams
Sunshine Coast Falcons: 1. Sam Young 2. Young Tonumaipea 3. Travis Robinson 4. Hymel Hunt 5. Tony Tumusa 6. Ben Hampton 7. Billy Kitt 8. Jon Platt 9. Billy Brittain 10. Ryan Hansen (c) 11. Joe Stimson 12. Rueben Baillie 13. James Ackerman 14. Jacob Samoa (c) 15. Johnny Vuetibau 16. Jye Ballinger 18. Kem Seru
Souths Logan Magpies: 1. Josh Damen 2. Samisoni Vaioleti 3. Dallas Anderson 4. Tim Brooks 5. Matt Trnka 6. Jack Joass 7. Ashley Taylor 8. Tikiko Noke 9. Travis Waddell 10. Andrew Edwards 11. Scott Doyle 12. Dan Tamou 13. Joe Boyce 14. Hansell Semau 15. Phil Dennis (c) 16. Sam Gardel 17. Leon Panapa
