Our Hostplus Cup team made the trip to Redcliffe to play the Dolphins in Round 3 on Saturday. Playing our traditional rival in XXXX Rivalry Round, and coming off a great Round 2 win against Burleigh, there was strong expectation that this would be a big game for both clubs.

Wynnum Manly opened the scoring in the 3rd minute as Sione Hopoate scored in the corner to give the Seagulls the dream start.

The next 10 minutes were a mix of strong defensive efforts and handling errors from both teams.

Redcliffe then scored in the 15th minute to go in front and unfortunately for the Seagulls, the momentum remained in their corner for the next 40 minutes.

A steady run of 6 tries to the Dolphins were compounded by many penalties that kept the Seagulls stuck in their own half.

At 36-4 down, Luke Gale got one back for the Seagulls. And the Ron Philitoga scored in the 69th minute to bring the score to 36-16 and provide a glimmer of hope for the remaining 10 minutes.

However, the score remained at 36-16, leaving Wynnum Manly with work to do ahead of the next game.

The NRL match between the Dolphins and Wests Tigers followed our game, giving our players greater exposure and a bigger crowd than would normally watch Hostplus Cup games at Redcliffe.

Our McDonalds Seagulls Academy teams then travelled to the Dolphins on Sunday to play across 4 matches.

Redcliffe were too strong in the Harvey Norman U17 (42-4), Harvey Norman U19 (20-8) and Mal Meninga Cup (48-0) competitions. Our Cyril Connell Cup had a great win 42-10 though, and remain in 1st place on the ladder after an impressive season.

Round 4 is a bye this weekend, before we welcome the Souths Logan Magpies to BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday the 6th of April to play for the Mitch Cronin Cup.

The Seagulls hosted Burleigh Bears at BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday across 5 games.

Traditionally strong at every age level, the Bears generally provide a tough game each and every year.

Our Harvey Norman U17 and U19 women’s teams were up first, and unfortunately Burleigh proved too strong.

The third game was a top of the table clash in the Cyril Connell Cup as both teams were currently undefeated. Our Seagulls were in front for most of the game, but went down by a point in a thriller, 17-16.

Mal Meninga Cup were up next and Burleigh again were the better team on the day.

Hostplus Cup kicked off at 3pm for our first game of the season, after Round 1 at Tweed was delayed dur to the wild weather.

The Bears opened up an 18-0 lead after 19 minutes, with the Seagulls slow out of the gate. However, after a demanding preseason, and a focus on recruitment of defensively strong players, the Seagulls knew the game was nowhere near over.

Ben Farr, returning to the club after 2 seasons with the New Zealand Warriors, scored the Seagulls first try of 2025, followed by Broncos-contracted Delouise Hoeter 5 minutes later.

One more try to Burleigh before halftime and the Seagulls were down 24-12 at the break.

The strength of the Seagulls middle forwards shone through early in the second half as Beni Allen collected a Cameron Bukowski grubber to score under the posts. And then new recruit Jordan Grant crashed over the line from a Bukowski short ball to level the scores at 24-24.

The scores were locked up for 18 minutes, before Ron Philitoga, on his Seagulls debut, beat two players to run through and score in the corner, sending the Chook Pen into a meltdown.

Tempers flared as the game hung in the balance, but the Seagulls held strong, before Jock Madden retrieved his own kick off a ricochet to score untouched under the posts and ice the game.

Madden the kicked a penalty as time expired, with the Seagulls running out 36-24 winners. Burleigh were held scoreless in the second half as the Seagulls ground them down and showed glimpses of their attacking strengths, with more to build on as the season progresses.

Our next match is at Kayo Stadium against our traditional rival, the Redcliffe Dolphins, on Saturday afternoon as a curtainraiser to the Dolphins vs Tigers NRL match.