Elimination final
Runaway Bay Seagulls (4th) v Currumbin Eagles (5th); Saturday 22 August, 5pm at Bycroft Oval
Runaway Bay will host the first final of the 2015 series. Finishing in fourth with six wins, seven loses and a draw, the Bay did enough to ensure a home final in week one. They come into this game in good form, having beaten Southport 52-28 in their last appearance and managing to remain unbeaten in six of their last nine games. They will also be fresh after a round 17 bye. They have been one of the form teams in the competition in the second half of the year and probably deserve to start favourites at home. However, last time these sides met at this ground it was Currumbin who walked away winners. In fact, in three meetings this year Currumbin and Bay have a win each and one draw. Sunday will be the rubber match and appropriately the stakes couldn’t be higher. The loser is eliminated and the winner lives for another week. Sudden death football shouldn’t be anything new for Currumbin who had to defeat Tweed Heads in the final round to even qualify for the finals. That upset win saw them leapfrog Bilambil and move into the top five for the first time all season. They left it until the last minute, but it has been building for some time. They’ve won five of their last seven games and with a win against Bay in their last meeting they will fancy their chances on Saturday. The presence of three former NRL stars (Matt Geyer – Currumbin, Clinton Toopi and Preston Campbell –Bay) adds further intrigue to what should be a free-flowing and entertaining elimination final.
Qualifying final
Tugun Seahawks (2nd) v Tweed Heads Seagulls (3rd); Sunday 23 August, 2pm at Boyd Street
The Tugun Seahawks are on the hunt for their fifth consecutive grand final. It’s an incredible run for the Seahawks and by finishing in second place they have put themselves in a very good position to make yet another decider. After enduring a brief dip in form mid-season, Tugun finished the year very strongly and punctuated it with a 60-4 thumping of Southport in round 17. Former Southport quartet Tim Matenga, Tu Whakatihi, Chris Thomas and Drumayne Dayberg-Muir have given the already imposing Seahawks a massive boost in 2015 and they will definitely be players to watch throughout the finals series. Standing in their way on Sunday will be the Tweed Heads Seagulls, one of the sides who have given them the most trouble this year. Tweed have a winning record over Tugun in 2015 with a 32-10 win in round five and a 34-18 win in round 11. That’s half of Tugun’s losses for the entire season. The Seagulls have shown on numerous occasions this year how good they can be, but their best performance is very different from their worst. Last week they went down to then sixth placed Currumbin and a week earlier they conceded 60 points against a rampant Burleigh. It was a poor finish to the regular season, but the ability of Tweed shouldn’t be underestimated. They will lift when it matters on Sunday and will be intent on beating Tugun for the third time this season. Keep an eye on Gold Coast Vikings representatives Josh Harvey and Kobi Mills in the Seagulls pack as well as try-scoring machine Tim Cassidy in the backs.
Burleigh Bears (1st), bye. Proceed directly to GF qualifying final at Pizzey Park on August 30
Final Standings
Burleigh Bears 32
Tugun Seahawks 25
Tweed Heads Seagulls 20
Runaway Bay Seagulls 19
Currumbin Eagles 17
Bilambil Jets 16
Southport Tigers 6
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