The Falcons collected their third victory of the season on Saturday, defeating the visiting BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls 12-8 in a close game.
The swirling wind conditions made things interesting for the wingers and fullbacks, and provided an unfriendly challenge for Benaiah Bowie in his return to the Intrust Super Cup as he filled in for injured Gulls fullback Daniel Ogden.
It was a sloppy opening 20 minutes for both teams, with neither able to turn field position into points.
However, the Falcons looked to swing momentum their way first, with an incisive run from hooker Brandon Smith marking the start to three-consecutive attacking sets for the home side.
Wynnum however, would bring the game back into an arm wrestle toward the latter portions of the first half, with David Mead and Bowie using a set inside ball move to attack the Sunny coast line for the first time in the afternoon.
Despite the opportunities, the opening score wouldn’t come until the 34th minute.
A penalty took the visitors into Falcons territory and half Travis Burns and Mead then orchestrated a right hand edge move to get Peter Gubb over in the right corner to take the first lead.
The Falcons would retaliate almost immediately after a Bowie failed to field the kick-off cleanly, but determined Wynnum cover defence would combat a precise Jarome Hughes pass.
In the closing minute before the break, Hughes again did the damage after the Falcons were gifted a scrum in their own half.
The fullback broke the line on a blindside scrum set play that saw him run 60m to score.
The second half saw the teams return to the wrestle, as both teams asked questions early and threatened with a number of half chances.
Momentum took a big jump to the Sunshine Coast in the 51st minute when Justin Olam backed up his strong first half for the Sunshine Coast, adding another long range try for the Falcons.
The back-and-forth would continue as a break by Mitchell Cronin kick-started a passage of play which would end with centre Mitchell Buckett coming agonisingly close to scoring, but for a knock on over the line.
Sunshine Coast half Guy Hamilton would earn his team another attacking opportunity in the 58th minute with a crafty 40/20 kick, but his side could not capitalise.
The final 20 minutes became a battle of the forwards as the two packs looked to control the final stanza.
Falcons captain Dane Hogan became an unfortunate victim of the physical battle that ensued, coming off injured in the 60th minute.
Mead looked dangerous again in the 64th minute after receiving some early ball that let him slip through and get Gubb into space, but a failed inside completion from Cronin to Jayden Berrell would leave more points hanging for Wynnum Manly.
A penalty goal to Hamilton in the 70th minute turned this into a two-score game for the visitors, before Mead again, moving to the fullback position found space off a second-man play to put Bowie in for his first Intrust Super Cup try since 2014.
As the minutes dwindled and tension rose, both teams were presented plenty of opportunities to take the game with neither team boasting a proud completion rate.
Wynnum received three penalties inside the final 90 seconds, but despite this, the Falcons held on to the four-point lead to claim the two competition points by the game’s end.
See the full scoring details and final team line-ups for this game via QRL Live
SUNSHINE COAST FALCONS 12 (Jahrome Hughes, Justin Olam tries; Guy Hamilton 2 goals) def WYNNUM MANLY SEAGULLS 8 (Peter Gubb, Benaiah Bowie tries) at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
