The Wynnum Manly Seagulls put a dent in the Magpies recent run of good form, posting a 36-26 win in an entertaining game at Davies Park earlier today.
The Magpies were honouring 226 games for skipper Phil Dennis (he is already their most capped player); but it was the Seagulls who were celebrating early, with winger fullback Daniel Ogden crossing for two tries within the opening 20 minutes.
The Seagulls halves helped set their side up to claim the important win; with either the XXXX man of the match Pat Templeman or the experienced Matt Seamark involved in many of their scoring successes.
Seamark’s immaculate day with the boot – where he slotted six out of his six attempts - also helped his side claim a win that was match that was much closer than expected.
In a poor first half for the Magpies, they at least made sure they stayed in touch with the visitors when winger Luke Archer was able to bring down a Sam Scarlett kick that bounced over the top of the outstretched arm of a leaping defender.
They received the opportunity to attack the Wynnum line to get that try from the most unlikely of sources, with big forward Herman Ese’ese’s kick ahead hitting the post and earning them a line drop-out.
However, the Gulls were in again before halftime to claim an 18-4 lead at the break with wholehearted winger Peter Gubb powering his way over in the right corner.
It seemed like it was game-over early in the second half when Templeman crossed for Wynnum Manly to extend their lead to 22-4; following a great bust down the left-hand side from Ogden.
A 40/20 kick from Scarlett however changed the tempo of the game – with the Magpies running in the next three tries to ensure an exciting end to the match.
Ese’ese was a shining star for the home side and proved hard to handle. The way he set up Dan Tamou to score in the 61st minute was a particular highlight; making light work of three defenders one-on-one before producing a well-timed offload for the supporting Tamou.
Their fightback saw the Magpies claw their way back into the game to trail 24-20; but a 73rd minute try from a chasing Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard effectively shut down the danger for the Seagulls.
Both sides scored one more try apiece in a high-scoring game that eventually finished with Wynnum Manly claiming their seventh win of the season.
See the full scoring details for this game and final team line-ups via QRL Live
WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS 36 (Daniel Ogden 2, Peter Gubb, Patrick Templeman, Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard, Mitchell Buckett tries; Mathew Seamark 6 goals) def SOUTHS LOGAN MAGPIES 26 (Luke Archer, Joe Boyce, Dan Tamou, Marion Seve, Leon Panapa tries; Bradley Frith 3 goals) at Davies Park.
