The Falcons bounced back in fine style to get their season back on track with a 28-4 win over Norths Devils at Sunshine Coast Stadium yesterday.
The home side overturned a two-game losing run to record their fifth win of the season and it was a welcome return to their early-season form.
Storm Under 20s product Jake Turpin was impressive in his promotion to the feeder side along with Joe Stimson who showed his versatility playing in the centres.
The Falcons held a narrow two-point lead at half-time before a four try second half set up the runaway win.
The home side controlled 87% of possession after the break while managing to keep Norths scoreless.
“A week is a long time in rugby league,” Falcons coach Craig Ingebrigtsen said.
“We starved them of the ball and executed really well when we got into good areas.
“The main aspect was that our defence kept turning them away which enabled us when we got the ball to really focus on putting some pressure on them.
“It was our best defensive performance of the year.”
Ingebrigtsen was impressed by the performance of Turpin in the middle.
Not only was it the youngster’s first game at Intrust Super Cup Cup level, but also his return after a month-long absence with a hand injury.
“He did not look out of place at all, JT was great,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“He fits in really well and all the boys up here like him. He just fitted into the structures really well and the more times he plays at this level the better he is going to become.
“It was pretty dynamic having him and Nafe Seluini as our two nines.
“They certainly shared the workload and made the opposition feel under threat every time they had the football.”
Stimson also continued his consistent form this season, even getting on the try sheet with two minutes to play to seal the win.
“It was a really good opportunity for Joe to play centres and see how he’d go there,” Ingebrigtsen said.
“He did a really good job. He was good on his feet, made good defensive decisions and it was really good to see him play out of position and react the way he did.”
Next weekend, both sides have the weekend off due to the Representative Round with a number of Falcons selected in the XXXX Queensland Residents and Pacific Tests squads.
Round 10 will see the Devils at home to Souths Logan, while the Falcons will travel to Piggabeen to play Tweed Heads.
Head to QRL Live to see the final scoring details and full teams for this game
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 28 (Eddie Tautali 2, Tui Kamikamica, Samuel Wright, Joe Stimson tries; Joe Stimson 3, Ryan Hansen goals) def NORTHS DEVILS 4 (Michael Lucas try) at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
*This first appeared on melbournestorm.com.au
Read all the Round 9 match wraps here:
Tweed Heads outmuscle Capras
Tigers down Magpies in scrappy affair
Phins go down fighting v PNG
Seagulls stun flat Pride
Bears and Blackhawks pay thrilling draw
Cutters comeback grounds the Jets
