Tweed win bird battle with big win over Magpies

Boasting a handful of NRL experience, the Seagulls were able to dominate field position for a majority of the match, with the Magpies simply struggling to keep up with their more fancied opponents.

While the Magpies showed some flashes of brilliance, the second successive hat-trick to Walters and some flawless goal kicking from Lindon McGrady, saw the Seagulls run away with the match in the second half.

Tweed Seagulls coach Ben Woolf was pleased with his side’s effort and patience in attack against a gallant Magpies side.

“It was very pleasing to see the boys put in a good performance this afternoon,” Woolf said.

“Even though the Magpies might be lower on the ladder, they’ve been playing some good footy in recent times, so it was important that we keep building on the momentum we have made in the past couple of weeks.”

In sunny conditions, it didn’t take long before second-rower Lamar Liolevave crashed over to give Tweed an early 6-0 lead in the 13th minute.

Then it was fullback McGrady who nabbed a try of his own in the 19th minute to extend their lead to 12-0.

The Seagulls continued their dominance in the first half, when Kirk Murphy scored just his second try of the year in the 28th minute, to give his side a handy 18-0 buffer.

Despite the early onslaught, the Magpies continued to battle away and were rewarded with a try late in the first half, when Lachlan Cooper scored in the 37th minute, to help bridge the gap to 12 points at halftime.

The Magpies then started the second half just how they finished the first, with winger Linc Port this time going over in the 43rd minute to make it 18-10.

Just as the Magpies looked to have gotten back into the contest, the Seagulls then managed to score a try of their own through Walters in the 50th minute to wrestle back the momentum.

The high-flying winger then backed up last week’s hat-trick, scoring again in the 56th minute to make it a 30-10 scoreline.

The floodgates then began to open, with Tweed scoring their third try in 10 minutes, with Ioane Seiuli slicing through to make it 36-10.

After his starring turn against the Easts Tigers last weekend, Walters was yet again in the thick of the action, as he crossed in the 63rd minute to bring up his 13 try in the Intrust Super Cup this season.

Souths Logan then scored two late consolation tries through Matt Soper-Lawler and also to Brendon Gibb in his final game to see the scoreline read 42-20.

McGrady finished the match with 18 points after scoring a try and putting on a goal kicking masterclass, with the Tweed fullback slotting seven from seven attempts.

Woolf was confident his side could go deep in the finals, as long as they continued to remain patient and kept grinding away against good sides.

“Being patient, grinding away and getting to our kicks is going to be really important. If we can keep being patient in attack and applying pressure, we will certainly be able to challenge any side come finals time,” Woolf said.

“I think things are really starting to click in our attack and if we keep being patient and staying in the fight, I don’t think we’ll have issues putting points on the board come finals time.”

The Seagulls will look to maintain their good form when they take on the Northern Pride at Piggabeen Sports Complex next week.

Meanwhile, the Magpies will take on the PNG Hunters.