Rugby League Brisbane came together to help raise awareness of the importance of mental health as Sunnybank scored an emphatic 40-16 win over Carina in their Southside 1 fixture on Saturday.
A minute's silence was held at Leo Williamson Oval for the special round, remembering the lives lost due to suicide throughout the rugby league community.
After tributes had been honoured around the ground before kick-off, the focus then turned to the field in which the Magpies ran riot, taking away a vital two points for the club.
Three tries to powerful Magpies centre Chris Tauelangi proved to be the telling factor, as he was virtually unstoppable out wide.
It was the home team who got on the board first, however, after only 43 seconds. They ran the length of the field from the kick-off to score in the corner giving them an early lead.
A spot-on pass from Magpies centre Tonga Mounga found his winger Madison Takimoana in support, to level the scores three minutes later. Logan Ritai landed the sideline conversion to put the Magpies beaks in front at 6-4.
Mounga then wrong-footed his opposite number as he was able to step his way through some flimsy Tigers defence to further increase the Magpies lead in the 22nd minute.
The Tigers had gone close on two separate occasions after this and it was third time lucky when electric winger Luke Anderson dashed his way down the sideline to beat two defenders and score.
A towering sideline conversion from fullback Ryan Allport had both teams head to the break levelled up at 10-10, but Sunnybank surged in the second half to rack up the points in an impressive display.
Tauelangi scored the first of his three tries one minute after the break, busting through tackle after tackle to steam his way over the line.
The points continued to flow for the visitors with another try two minutes later, before Tauelangi used his brute strength to overpower the smaller Tigers outside backs, again crashing in from dummy half to see the Magpies out to a 28-10 lead.
A sneaky lunge from dummy half to Mounga had the Tigers reeling, as the scoreboard now started to click into overdrive.
The Tigers, to their credit, never stopped trying, especially Anthony Montgomery and Luke McDonald who were tireless for the home side throughout the game.
The physical presence of the Magpies took its toll on the Tigers and further tries to Clayton Peeti and a final charge from Tauelangi meant there would be no miracle comeback for the Tigers.
Tigers hooker Montgomery gave the home crowd something to cheer about on the stroke of fulltime when he darted out of dummy half to go in under the posts, but it had little impact on the final score line as the Magpies secured a 24-point win.
Full results, standings and fixtures for all Rugby League Brisbane competitions available here.
Help is available 24/7 for anyone who has mental health concerns by calling Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14.
