The second round of semi-finals of the Gold Coast-Tweed Gen Z Employment Cup wrap will be played this weekend. The Runaway Bay Seagulls will not be progressing to the finals as they lost to the Burleigh Bears 34-8 in last week’s elimination match.
Southport Tigers v Burleigh Bears
After defeating the Runaway Bay Seagulls 34-8 in a physical match last weekend, the Bears know the challenge they face against the Tigers. Coach Matt Foster said “we are playing the right kind of footy at the right time”. Foster is pleased with the team’s overall performance and progression. Commending the Tigers on their coaching and improvement from the previous season, Foster knows the Tigers have a lot of depth amongst the younger players. The Bears will need to turn up and execute what was planned as they know Southport can easily take over the match. The Tigers may see co-coach Tim Cannard strap on the boots for this weekend. Out-enthused by the Tugun Seahawks last weekend 39-6, the Tigers need to start hard early to compete with the size of Burleigh’s pack. Co-coach Michael Esdale said “we had a fun and hard training week and hope that can be reflected in the game”. The Tigers know the Bears can hurt them all over the park and will need to work together to complete sets and maintain possession. Regan Muir, Cameron Miller, Justin McKenna and Dillon Maihi were mentioned as impact players.
Tweed Head Seagulls v Tugun Seahawks
The second semi-final and qualifying match for the grand final will be between the Tweed Heads Seagulls and Tugun Seahawks. The Seagulls have trained hard to maintain their physical contact despite having a week off football. Coach Clint Barends said “everyone is back and recovered so we should not have any excuses”. The Seagulls are working towards controlling the football, completions and taking their chances. Tom Moulds and Bryce Denman were identified as the strength amongst the front row and will provide drive for the team. Dominating last weekend’s 2 v 3 semi-final against the Southport Tigers, the Tugun Seahawks are optimistic leading into this weekend’s match against the Seagulls. The main motivation for the Seahawks this week at training was to ensure everyone had the same goal – to beat Tweed. Coach Martin Griese said “the boys played well last week, they just had a couple things earlier on in the match that needed fixing”. Sticking to their game plan and working on the basics, the Seahawks are ready for a tough match. The match between Tweed will be the first week in the whole competition that the Seahawks will have their strongest team on the field, with Ayden Lee, Shane Gray and Keanu Te Kiri named as stand out players.
Good luck to all teams this weekend!
Semi Final matches
Saturday, August 27
Southport v Burleigh at Owen Park, 3pm
Sunday, August 28
Tweed Heads v Tugun at Piggabeen Oval, 2pm
