Tweed Seagulls surged to claim two wins in their Round 4 games and put themselves in contention for a finals berth.
Halfback Tarryn Aiken played a starring role, crossing for two tries and setting up another. She was ably assisted in the halves by the experience of Chelsea Baker, who looks to have found her best position after spending the past few weeks filling in at various roles for her teams including centre and wing.
Tweed posted a 10-6 win over West Brisbane Panthers and backed it up with a come-from-behind victory over Easts Tigers.
The Tigers started the day at Pizzey Park with a gallant defensive showing against the Panthers with a 0-0 draw; a game that was more thrilling that the final score line may suggest.
In the second match, Tweed started well, scoring the first two tries before West Brisbane hooker Michaela Peck crossed with just under 10 minutes to go to make the last moments of the game a tense one for Seagulls fans eager to see the team’s first win.
Full Holcim Cup Round 4 scores available here.
Their next opponents, the Tigers, caught Tweed off-guard in the opening moments of their match, racing to an early lead after an error from the kick-off from the Seagulls.
Tigers lock Katherine Moore pounced to score first for her side; but the Seagulls were almost able hit straight back after Easts made their own error receiving the ball back.
At the ensuing scrum, Aiken was able to weave her way out wide to the left of the field, diving over towards the try line, only to be pushed into touch by some desperate defence. The play showed her intention and the gifted playmaker was able to deliver later in the game.
Both sides then had their chances, with Tigers captain Liohana Theodore held up over the line after another typical barging run.
It didn’t matter though and the Tigers crossed soon after with Lucy Botten over in the left wing; putting her side in front 10-0 with 20 minutes to go.
From there, however, Aiken stood up and started a golden run for her side, scoring two tries in the space of two minutes, with Baker and young centre Abelee Stanley finishing the job to guide Tweed to back-to-back wins.
It was billed as a heavyweight clash all week and both Souths Logan Magpies and Burleigh Bears played tough in their Round 4 full game.
However, with the defence such a focus, it pressured teams into making errors; and it also dampened the attacking flair that fans had come to expect in recent weeks from the Magpies especially.
Outstanding in defence all competition, the Bears were able to shut down two of the key attacking weapons of the Magpies with neither fullback Tamika Upton nor damaging forward Elsie Albert able to cross the try line.
In a 10-0 first half victory, Burleigh went over for two tries of differing fashion; the first out wide to winger Tarnisha Lyons and the second following a strong run from prop Millie Boyle.
The second half saw a fightback from the Magpies, with Ali Brigginshaw doing her best to spark the comeback, and going in under the posts for the opening try of the half with seven minutes gone.
The Bears scored next after a remarkable passage of end-to-end play that showed the best of each team.
On demand: Holcim Cup Round 4
An Upton break-and-dash upfield was countered by a great tackle from Tazmin Gray down the left side of the field; before the Bears counter-attacked along the opposite touchline with a great chase from Hayley Maddick bringing down Jodeci Nicholson who seemed destined to score.
However, the Bears were able to capitalise on the break, swinging the ball back inside for Zahara Temara to run in and score Burleigh’s only try of the half.
They left it until the final minute, but the Magpies were able to claim the honours for the half when they swung to the right in hope, with Meg Ward claiming a good pass to touch the ball down for a 10-6 advantage to her side for the half.
Round 5 this coming Saturday will be played at Tugun, with home side Tweed Seagulls playing West Brisbane Panthers in the full game to cap the afternoon’s play.
Souths and Burleigh will go head-to-head again in the opening clash of the round, with the Bears then backing up against Easts. The third game of the round will have the Tigers and Magpies face off.
All matches will again be broadcast live via QRL.com.au and the QRL Facebook page.
