Category: Match Report

MATCH REPORT | Win v Gulls secures PNG silverware

By Levington Melvin Levongo

The PNG Hunters secured the 2017 Intrust Super Cup minor premiership after defeating Wynnum Manly Seagulls 28-22 in their Round 24 clash at the National Football Stadium yesterday.

However, it was a tough game for the home side and the visitors were first side to score through fullback Paora Kemp after an impressive backline play. Shaun Nona missed the conversion attempt and the Gulls led 4-0.

Hunters hit back thanks to they try-scoring fullback Stargroth Amean who crossed over after receiving an inside pass from Ase Boas. Boas was able to convert the try to give his side the lead.

The Seagulls went over to score again through PNG international David Mead who showcased his class by beating the Hunters defenders to score. Nona converted the try as the visitors retook the lead 10-4 which they held at the halftime break.

In the second half, the Hunters forwards – led by Nixon Putt and David Loko – caused problems for the Seagulls on the edges; while Israel Eliab continued to show his impressive form. He beat a number of defenders to score in the corner with another try for the Hunters, but this time Boas missed the conversion.

The Hunters scored again soon after through forward Putt who muscled his way over and Boas slotted the extra two points.

The Seagulls tried their best to stay in the contest with Nona calling the shots. They soon scored through captain Mitchell Frei who went over with 20 minutes remaining before fulltime.

With scores level at 16-16, both sides were chasing points – but it was Hunters in form fullback Amean who scored to boost the morale of his team-mates and Boas converted the try.

Hunters play maker Boas scored again in the 69th minute to put the icing on the cake.

However, the Gulls had one more shot and Mead – who was influential for his side all game – scored again with less than 10 minutes remaining before fulltime. The visitors tried a late comeback, but, time was against them as the Hunters held on to win and claim their maiden minor premiership.

Next week, the Hunters travel to Tweed Heads to take on the competition’s other Seagulls, while Wynnum Manly will be away to the Norths Devils.

This story was originally published at: http://www.qrl.com.au/news/2017/08/21/hunters_claim_minor_.html

MATCH REPORT | Seagulls fall to Bears in final home game

By Lee Reilly

The Burleigh Bears have outclassed the BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls 38-22 this Sunday, putting on 7 tries to 4 in the final game at BMD Kougari Oval for 2017.

Bears’ winger Troy Leo finished with a hat-trick and fullback Kurtis Rowe was sensational at the back, collecting XXXX Man of the Match honours from Channel 9.

Seagulls’ captain Mitch Frei continued his scoring purple patch, collecting a double and making it 3 tries from back to back matches.

Daniel Ogden will have to wait another week for try number 136 to claim the outright Intrust Super Cup try scoring record.

The BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls have a bye in Round 23, before travelling to Papua New Guinea for their Round 24 clash with the Hunters.

BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls (22)
Tries: Mitch Frei (18m, 43m), Stedman Lefau (37m) Adam Tuimavave-Gerrard (79m)
Goals: Shaun Nona (19m, 38m, 80m)

Burleigh Bears (38)
Tries: Troy Leo (4m, 14m, 72m), Henare Wells (24m), Kurtis Rowe (50m, 67m) Sami Sauiluma (54m)
Goals: Jamal Fogarty (6m, 52m, 56m, 67m, 74m)

Match Report | Wynnum win derby against Easts

By Kenny Andres

In a bounce-back performance, Wynnum Manly downed Easts Tigers at BMD Kougari yesterday afternoon, claiming a 22-6 win.

It was a strong start for the visitors however, who had little trouble venturing into Wynnum territory, threatening early.

But the following 20 minutes would be a sloppy period, errors abundant for both camps as neither could bring up points until the 24th minute.

Recent Seagulls acquisition Shaun Nona helped break the deadlock, spotting some space behind the defensive line before poking a grubber kick through to find late addition David Mead for four points.

Nona added the extras, marking the start of a strong Wynnum period for the rest of the half.

The first half closed nicely for the Seagulls, with the green and red run of play continuing when skipper Mitchell Frei regathered his own grubber to touch down four minutes out from the break.

Whilst the first half finished in favour of the home side, coach Adam Brideson lauded his side’s defence for standing strong against the abundance of early attacking Tiger possession.

“Nate Myles, Robbie Rochow, Young Tonu Tonumaipea; they dominated possession for a large chunk of that 25 minutes and yet we managed to turn them away,” Brideson said.

The Tigers eliminated the chance of being shut out for the first time this season early in the second half, Steven Thorpe busting over from short range in the 43rd minute, cashing in on a perfect Billy Walters delivery.

They looked dangerous again when Tonumaipea sliced through again a few sets later, which eventually resulted in a repeat set, before errors nullified more attacking opportunity for the Tigers.

This would be an unfortunate reoccurrence for Easts, who produced enterprising play without reward as they struggled to find execution throughout the second half.

Wynnum Manly didn’t fare much better throughout the bulk of the second half, but found a way to flick the switch in the final 10 minutes when Jeriah Goodrich collected the scraps of a Travis Burns bomb to light up the score board for Wynnum in the 74th minute.

Stedman Lefau put the contest to bed with a short-range score three minutes out, capping off a solid performance at home for the Seagulls.

“We turned up today,” Brideson said after the match.

“I know Easts will probably say they didn’t play very well today, but in my opinion, we didn’t really allow them to; we stuck it to a really good Easts side and showed a lot of commitment.”

The Seagulls are a longshot to make the finals, but play in hope against Burleigh next week, whilst the Tigers look to hold their top six position at home against Tweed Heads.

MATCH REPORT | Cape fearless: Pride end horror run in style

by QRL Media

A strong first half set up the Northern Pride’s 40-16 domination of the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls on Cape York, ending an eight-game winless run.

Cape York communities aren’t known for their traffic jams, so when the 4WDs start spilling into the bush around the Yusia Ginau Oval carpark, you know the big show is in town.

A rare Intrust Super Cup game in the cape township of Bamaga, the first of County Week 2017, saw local fans fill the stands and field-side huts keen for a full day of footy. That’s exactly what they got, the day kicking off with the Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) Under-13s taking on the Zenadth Kes Rugby League Under-13s, and the Torres Stingers open men’s team getting home against the NPA Bulls.

But it was the classier footy of the Intrust Super Cup that the fans had come to see, and winless in their last eight games, that was just what the Northern Pride were keen to display, along with the Indigenous jersey they wore for the occasion.

Wynnum-Manly helped out with an early knock-on and penalty gifting the Pride field position and the Cairns team accepted the offer, with Brad Stephen crashing over from short range. Jordan Biondi-Odo added the extras to put the pride up 6-0.

The Pride were soon in again, halfback Jared Allen on the end of a 50-metre Shawn Bowen sideline burst. Biondi-Odo then used the wind to swing the conversion through the posts and the Pride were perfect at 12-0.

The Seagulls hit back quickly through Shaun Nona, but spoiled their good work with some poor left edge defence, allowing Brad Stephen to slice through 30 metres out and run away to score untouched. Biondi-Odo added the extras to extend the Pride’s lead to 18-4. A classy backline move then put Shawn Bowen in in the corner and on the knock of half-time a silly penalty deep in their own half added insult to injury for Wynnum-Manly. The Pride were more than happy to accept the two points and head to the sheds with a handy 24-4 advantage.

Wynnum-Manly added more starch to their defence in the second half, and after an initial softening up period put fullback Daniel Ogden away from close range next to the posts. Paora Kemp slotted the easiest of conversions to reduce the deficit to 14 and the Seagulls looked a chance.

With momentum building, an injury to Max Elliot broke the Seagulls’ concentration and the teams went tit-for-tat through tries to the Pride’s Marcus Jenson and Wynnum’s Peter Gubb.

The Pride did well to maintain their intensity though, and were always in control. Patrick Mago and Gideon Gela-Mosby got in on the act as the game wound down, the Northern Pride ending a horror run as 40-16 victors over the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls.

This story was originally published at:
http://www.qrl.com.au/news/2017/07/22/pride_end_horror_run.af_intrust-super-cup.html

Match Report | Seagulls 16 – Devils 6

By Lee Reilly

The Wynnum-Manly Seagulls kept their finals aspirations on track with a gutsy 16-6 win over Norths Devils at BMD Kougari Oval.
Wynnum-Manly didn’t take long to trouble the scorers when halfback Aaron Booth put centre David Mead through a gap in the 4th minute. Booth converted in front to send the Seagulls 6-0 up.

Seagulls forward Stedman Lefau crashed over next to the posts to get the Seagulls second try in the 25th minute after some great lead- up work from busy rake Jayden Burrell.

Devils five-eighth Gary Riccardi, who was a danger all day for Wynnum-Manly looked to have got the Devils first try but Norths forward Matiu Love-Henry was deemed to have touched the ball as it reached Luke Pollock.

The Devils looked like they were going to go into the half-time break with a try when winger Javarn White pounced on a Mead dropped ball but Pollock threw a forward pass to an unmarked Michael Lucas. The play summed up the Devils’ first half that was riddled with mistakes and errors.

Seagulls flyer Daniel Ogden moved a step closer to breaking the all-time Intrust Super Cup record held by Nathanael Barnes when he crossed the strip to score his 134th try in the 57th minute. Booth added the extras to give the Seagulls a commanding 16-0 lead.

Some quick thinking from Lucas put some respectability into the score-line when he sprinted off the 20 tap, catching the tired Seagulls napping and running 70 metres to give the game a grandstand finish.

The Seagulls were able to hold out Norths and register their sixth win of the season, rising to 14 points on the ladder and a point clear of the Mackay Cutters.

It was an unhappy day for former NRL star Chris Sandow, who hobbled off late in the game with an ankle injury.

One of the shining lights for the Seagulls was boom half-back Booth, playing in only his third Intrust Super Cup match and relishing his time out there.

“It’s just a whole other level of footy, (it has been) a step up, a lot quicker (and a) lot more psychical.”

“I am loving every moment of it,” Booth said.

Seagulls Coach Adam Brideson will be happy to walk away with the two points but knows his side will need to be strong when they face the Sunshine Coast Falcons next Saturday night at BMD Kougari Oval.