QCUP Round 16: Ipswich Jets vs Tweed Heads Seagulls

Seagulls ground Jets again

The round 16 clash between the Tweed Head Seagulls and the Ipswich Jets was pre-game a contest of contrasting form.

The Ipswich Jets were coming off a 38 point loss to the Bears and two losses in a row, while the high flying Seagulls were gunning for eight wins in a row.

The Jets had never won at the Tweed in 12 attempts and it was going to take a huge effort to crack the Tweed hoodoo in 2014.

Captain and forward leader Keiron Lander and Josh Seage were missing, paving the way for Ben White to make his Intrust Super Cup debut.

It was imperative that the Jets got off to a good start to begin to erase the horror of last week and Carlin Anderson answered the call when he dived over in the right hand corner to get the Jets a 4-0 start after 16 minutes.

Tweed struck straight back in the opposite corner when Kalifa Faifai Loa scored and James Fogarty converted.

Ipswich Jets fullback Javarn White displayed his usual light footwork and speed to score for the Jets and after 30 minutes the visitors had taken the lead back after a Wes Conlon conversion 10-6.

The half wasn’t over yet with Tweed’s Tom Merritt scoring the first of his double and again the Jets had let the lead and momentum slip away. Tweed inflicted more pain when Pele Peletelese scored and at half time the Tweed now led 18-10.

This game was a grind and whichever team was prepared to wear the opposition out and wait for chances would win.

The second half couldn’t have started much worse for the Jets when they dropped the kick off and four tackles later the Tweed scored through Cody Nelson. The conversion was successful and Tweed had now gone in front 22-10 after 44 minutes.

A quality that this Jets side has in large quantities is the ability to score tries and keep playing football despite the odds. A belief that the tries will come is always present. They don’t normally come in the form of two front rowers through, the Jets scored the next two tries through the dominating work of Rod Griffin and Billy McConachie who both got over for tries next to the posts.

In the space of eight minutes the game was back to 22 a piece with 28 minutes to go. The Jets broke the dead lock when Wes Conlon kicked a penalty goal for a 24-22 scoreline.

For the next 10 minutes the game lived up to the grinding affair that was anticipated with both teams waiting for their chance. Tweed was given a sniff and took it with 13 minutes to go when Blake Anderson scored.

Tweed weren’t finished there and winger Merritt scored his second try to take the Seagulls to 32-24 after a Jets mistake with eight minutes to go.

It seemed the Jets coastal hoodoo would continue, but Marmin Barba gave the Jets hope with five to go when he scored to make the score 32-28. It was a frantic last five minutes with intercepts and close calls.

It proved too much for the Jets and the Tweed came away with a 32-28 win which saw the Seagulls claim second spot on the Intrust Super Cup ladder.

The Tweed will battle Burleigh next week, while the Ipswich Jets will play the Norths Devils at Bishop Park.

You can watch the full highlights of the match here: Tweed Heads v Ipswich Jets

TWEED HEADS SEAGULLS 32 (Tom Merritt 2, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Pele Peletelese, Cody Nelson, Blake Anderson tries; Jamal Fogarty 3, Blake Anderson goals) def IPSWICH JETS 28 (Javarn White, Carlin Anderson, Rod Griffin, Billy McConnachie, Marmin Barba tries; Wes Conlon 4 goals) at Piggabeen Sports.

Final teams

Tweed Heads Seagulls: 1. Jamal Fogarty 2. Tom Merritt 3. Luke Dumas 4. James Wood (c) 5. Kalifa Faifai Loa 6. Sam Irwin 7. Beau Henry 18. Ryan James 9. Matt King (c) 10. Pele Peletelese 11. Cody Nelson 12. Cory Blair 13. Tom Kingston 14. Blake Anderson 15. Ayden Lee 16. Sam Saville 17. Reg Saunders

Ipswich Jets: 1. Javarn White 2. Kurt Capewell 3. Nemani Valekapa 4. Brendon Marshall 5. Carlin Anderson 6. Josh Cleeland 7. Dane Phillips 8. Kurtis Lingwoodock 9. Troy O'Sullivan 10. Rod Griffin 21. Billy McConnachie 12. Sam Martin 26. Ben White 14. Tariki Peneha 18. Marmin Barba 19. Wes Conlon 22. Matt Parcell

Source: http://www.qrl.com.au