Tweed produce new halves pairing for derby
WILL Brimson and Luke Jurd will share playmaking duties for the first time as Tweed takes aim at a rare season cleansweep over Intrust Super Cup rivals Burleigh on Saturday.
With incumbent half Toby Sexton ruled out due to NRL stage four lockdown protocols, Jurd has been called into the Seagulls side for his first game of 2021 to partner Brimson in the halves against the Bears at Pizzey Park.
And with a five-point buffer over fellow top four hopefuls on offer, coach Ben Woolf has been forced into running with the untried combination for what could be Tweed’s biggest game of the season so far.
“It’ll be their first game together,” Woolf said.
“But they’ve done a lot of training together.
“All of our pre-season prep was done with Luke, Will and
Lindon (McGrady).
“The Wynnum game, Luke broke his hand in a trial so he was unavailable and never got that opportunity. But these guys have done a lot of training together so they should be fine.” Conversely , Burleigh’s halves pairing of Josh Rogers and Conner Toia has combined for four wins from five outings since the latter took over for the injured Guy Hamilton.
Tweed will hand Cup debuts to Northern Rivers duo Daniel Ross and Josh Patston, while Charlie Murray comes into the squad as 18th man for his first look at the top grade. Woolf said further debut opportunities would be on the cards in coming weeks as the Seagulls navigate a difficult part of the season without their Titans players.
It provides a great platform for players hoping to press for higher honours.