Spectators at Dolphin Oval were not disappointed on Saturday night, with Redcliffe comfortably defeating Tweed Heads 30-4.
However, it was not as easy as it seemed; with the Gulls sticking with the ladder-leading Dolphins for much of the first half.
Both sides started the game strongly in defence and attack, setting fans up for an intriguing night of football.
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While it only took 11 minutes before the first points were scored – with Dolphins lock Nathan Watts crashing over the line – they were not able to find the line again in the first half.
Despite the Seagulls not being able to get any points on the board during the first half, some uncharacteristic Redcliffe errors and some good football from the visitors gave the away side some hope going into halftime.
After the break, both sides appeared rejuvenated, with Dolphins winger Curtis Johnston taking a high mark over the line in the 44th minute to start the second half scoring action.
A well-placed kick from five-eighth Tyson Gamble sent second rower Troy Giess over the line in the 51st minute for their second of the half; while winger Joshua Beehag continued the home side’s strong second half performance adding a try in the 61st minute.
The Seagulls weren’t able to break the Redcliffe defence until the 71st minute when Brayden McGrady put the ball down comfortably in the corner.
The result was sealed when forwards Tyson Cleal and Matthew Lodge combined in the centre of the field to give the home side the last say in the 74th minute.
“I thought it was a really good contest from both sides; Tweed came to play and they played some really good footy,” Dolphins coach Adam Mogg said.
“It was a nice physical match between both sides, which was great to see, both sides were really giving it to each other throughout the game.
“Defensively, again I thought the boys were great; I couldn’t have asked for any more from them in that respect.”
Despite the victory, their first half error count was something Mogg said was heavily spoken about at half time.
“There were too many errors in the first half, and to the boys’ credit they knew exactly what to do to fix that which was great to see,” Mogg said.
The Dolphins will have the week off during Round 24 before facing the Northern Pride at Barlow Park in Cairns.
“With the bye coming up, we’ll spend the week recovering,” Mogg said.
“There are a few boys who will go and do some extra training to improve on their game and there are some who will get some extra time off.
“We’ve got the Pride in Cairns the week after and they’ll be looking to put in a good performance in front of their home crowd.
“Going in with the right mindset is really important, given the situation at the top of the table with how Souths and the Falcons are travelling – it’s a really tight contest.”
Next week, the Seagulls be the ones facing the Pride at Piggabeen Complex this Sunday afternoon, in the Channel 9 TV game.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
REDCLIFFE DOLPHINS 30 (Nathan Watts, Curtis Johnston, Troy Giess, Joshua Beehag, Matthew Lodge tries; Tyson Gamble 5 goals) def TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 4 (Brayden McGrady try) at Dolphin Oval.
