THAT HAS TO HURT
SHOCK INJURY
TWEED Heads have missed a golden opportunity to gain the upper hand in the Intrust Super Cup’s Gold Coast derby after blowing a lead against a defiant Burleigh outfit.
The Seagulls were in complete control at Pizzey Park yesterday, holding a 16-0 lead before a seemingly regulation Sam Coster hit-up just before halftime sparked a run of six unanswered tries for the hosts.
Coster took the ball from 10m out but squeezed between defenders to score a soft try, and that was backed up two minutes later by a four-pointer to Bears pivot Dallas Wells to shoot down Tweed’s confidence.
Burleigh went on to post a 34-16 victory to jump back up on to the top of the ladder.
“If they were the better team on the day, you would probably walk away copping it a bit better but I just don’t know if that was necessarily the case,” said disappointed Seagulls coach Ben Woolf, who called on his players to be more ruthless.
“I thought we showed early that we had enough to win the game.
“If we win that game, we’re one win off (second place); instead we’re now out of the six. We need to bounce back, otherwise it can slip away from you very quickly.”
For injury-hit Burleigh, the result snapped a twogame losing streak and maintained their perfect record against Tweed since 2015.
Their depth may yet be further tested though, with initial fears Wells may have suffered a broken leg after being involved in a nasty collision with the goalpost while scoring. However, coach Jimmy Lenihan said
last night that Wells is believed to have escaped without a fracture.
Rookie forward Jesse Savage was also helped from the field with a “very stiff and sore” neck after an alleged crusher tackle.