Seagulls daring to dream

Finals hopes remain after gritty Mackay victory

TWEED have kept their Intrust Super Cup finals hopes alive with a drought-breaking win against Mackay they hope can save their season.

The Seagulls led by 10 points with 20 minutes remaining but the Cutters charged home, scoring two late tries and having the chance to tie the game up with a conversion attempt in the dying stages of the fixture.

The Seagulls’ 24-22 win keeps them in the finals hunt, although coach Ben Woolf conceded the team’s poor forand-against meant they were likely to need an extra win to get there.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of changes in the last few weeks, so we needed (a win) to get back on track,” Woolf said.

The Seagulls’ victory broke a four-game losing streak and came with Titans backrower Bryce Cartwright back on the field after his recovery from a broken hand.

“He’s obviously a bit short of a gallop but he had a lot of touches, he was dangerous with the ball and got a few offloads, so he was good,” Woolf said. “The hard thing for us is he’s on that right edge where he hasn’t had a lot of time.

“He had only played the one game with us before he broke his hand. But he was handy for us.” Ryland Jacobs was among Tweed Heads’ best players, scoring in the 26th minute as he rotated between wing and the middle of the ground. “He really stepped up,” Woolf said.

The win leaves Tweed in 11th place but only two points separates the fifth-placed Easts and the Seagulls.

“We’re still only two points out (of the five), it’s a very compressed ladder,” he said.

“We play Easts this week who are two points in front, so it becomes a big game for us.”

Meanwhile, Burleigh have slipped back to outright third on the ladder, two wins behind leaders Townsville after losing to the Hunters in Papua New Guinea yesterday.

The visitors led 10-4 at the break after a pair of tries to Troy Leo but the Hunters hit back with 14 unanswered points in the second term.