The Sunshine Coast Falcons lost while Easts Tigers managed a draw in Round 14 of the Intrust Super Cup.
Tigers and Seagulls share points
Easts Tigers and Tweed Heads could not be separated after 80 minutes of football on Sunday afternoon, sharing the points at Pigabeen Sports Complex.
Nathanael Barnes drew first blood for the hosts, sprinting across the sideline to give the Seagulls an early lead after a neat series of passes. Just five minutes later, the Seagulls were rewarded for their attacking intentions with Shaun Carney giving the home side an unlikely 10-0 lead.
With the deficit steadily increasing, the Tigers lifted their defensive effort, showing far more intensity in their backline, eventually getting on the scoreboard courtesy of Donald Malone, who breathed life into the Tigers' attack.
Leva Li and Ali Grant quickly hit back for the hosts, handing the Seagulls a sixteen-point buffer and a stranglehold on the match.
The Tigers desperately needed a lifeline and it was Maeli Seve who delivered it, capitalising on a momentary lapse of concentration from the Seagulls to reduce the margin to 20-10.
When Billy Walters reduced the lead to just four points, the onlookers were treated to a tense final period as neither side refused to give an inch.
With the game on the line Storm winger Matt Duffie continued his recent try scoring form, producing some acrobatics to score a spectacular game-levelling try.
Barnes's second of the match late in the contest looked to have won the match for the Seagulls, however the Tigers responded to level the scores with Matt Duffie influential in the build up.
At the conclusion of an enthralling battle, the points were shared with a final score of 24-24.
Tweed Heads Seagulls 24
Tries: Nathanael Barnes 2, Shaun Carney, Leva Li, Ali Grant
Goals: Blake Anderson 2
Drew with.
Easts Tigers 24
Tries: Maeli Seve, Donald Malone, Michael Kai, Matt Duffie, Billy Walters
Goals: Donald Malone 2
at Piggabeen Sports Complex
Tweed Heads Seagulls: 1. Shaun Carney 2. Nathanael Barnes 3. Leva Li 4. Blake Anderson 5. Kalifa Faifai-Loa 6. Ricardo Parata 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Damian Sironen (c) 9. Sam Meskell 10. Oliver Percy 18. Matt White 12. Dane Clarke 13. Sam Saville 14. Ali Grant 15. Mark Offerdahl 16. Caleb Binge 17. Will Bugden
Easts Tigers: 1. Maeli Seve 2. Donald Malone 3. Eddie Tautali 4. Michael Kai 5. Matt Duffie 6. Isaac Kaufmann 19. Brentt Warr 8. Foisa Peni 9. Tommy Butterfield 10. Liam McDonald 11. Dane Hogan (c) 12. Jake Foster 13. Dean Britt 14. Francis Tualau 15. Matthew Zgrajewski 16. Brenton Horwood 17. Billy Walters
See Storm take on the Broncos in the Big Battle at AAMI Park in Round 15. Buy tickets.
Falcons streak broken by Pride
After back-to-back wins, Northern Pride broke the Falcons' winning streak last weekend when they travelled to the Sunshine Coast.
The visiting Pride took an early lead in the contest which they never relinquished, running out 28-6 victors.
The home side struggled to stifle the Pride’s attacking prowess as Brett Anderson gave his team a decisive 8-0 lead in the opening stages of the match.
Storm representative Suliasi Vunivalu gave the Falcons hope early in the second half, crashing across the line just after the half-time break. However, despite their best efforts the Falcons were unable to make any further impact on the scoreboard.
A string of tries constructed by the Pride in the second stanza, two of which came from interceptions cemented an impressive win for the seventh-placed Pride.
Sunshine Coast Falcons 6
Tries: Suliasi Vunivalu
Goals: David Oakes
Defeated by.
Northern Pride 28
Tries: Linc Port 2, Brett Anderson 2, Luke George, Semi Tadulala
Goals: Linc Port 2
at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Sunshine Coast Falcons: 1. Sam Wright 2. Sam Young 3. Rueben Baillie 4. Travis Robinson 5. Suliasi Vunivalu 6. David Oakes 7. Jake Turpin 8. James Ackerman 9. Jay Lobwein 10. Ryan Hansen 11. Jye Ballinger 12. Jake Samoa 13. Tom Murphy (c) 19. Paul Ivan 15. Johnny Vuetibau 16. Mboya Adams 20. Jon Platt
Northern Pride: 1. Hezron Murgha 2. Linc Port 3. Brett Anderson (c) 4. Luke George 5. Semi Tadulala 6. Ryan Ghietti 7. Sam Obst 9. Jason Roos (c) 10. Patrick Kaufusi 11. Vaipuna Tia Kilifi 12. Regan Verney 13. Ben Spina 14. Cameron King 15. Tom Hancock 16. Sheldon Powe Hobbs 17. David Murphy 18. Alex Starmer
