Easts Tigers have extended their impressive finals record against Wynnum Manly, outlasting the Seagulls 32-24 in a thrilling Elimination Final at BMD Kougari Oval.
Boosted by the inclusion of six Storm contracted players, the Tigers got out of the blocks early, drawing first blood courtesy of Richie Kennar before adding a second shortly after through Tommy Butterfield.
It wasn’t before long the Tigers had a third consecutive try and an impressive 14-0 lead.
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A dominant first half was highlighted with a try from Storm back Mahe Fonua, who added his name to the scoresheet as the Tigers took a stranglehold on the game.
With their backs against the wall, the Seagulls began to mount an unlikely comeback during the second stanza, scoring three majors over the course of 10 minutes to bring the deficit from 32-6 to 32-24.
However, the Tigers defence held tough and withstood the relentless second half surge from the Seagulls to score a memorable win away from home.
Easts Tigers 32
Tries: Richie Kennar, Mahe Fonua, Brett Warr, Tommy Butterfield, Felise Kaufusi, Jake Foster Goals: Shaun Nona 4
Defeated.
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 24
Tries: Mathew Smith 2, Matthew Grieve, Mitchell Frei tries;
Goals: Mathew Semark 4
At BMD Kougari Oval, Wynnum.
Easts Tigers: 1. Donald Malone 5. Richard Kennar 3. Shane Neumann 4. Mahe Fonua 2. Michael Kai 6. Shaun Nona 19. Brentt Warr 8. Liam McDonald 9. Tommy Butterfield (c) 10. Felise Kaufusi 11. Dayne Weston 12. Jake Foster 14. Mathew Pitman 15. Matthew Zgrajewski 16. Francis Tualau 17. Billy Walters 13. Foisa Peni
Wynnum Manly Seagulls: 1. Patrick Templeman 2. Peter Gubb 3. Matthew Grieve 4. Mitchell Buckett 5. Greg Eden 6. Matthew Smith 7. Mathew Seamark 8. Ben Shea 9. Alehana Mara 10. Josh Hoffman 11. Aaron Rockley 12. Brendon Gibb 13. Mitchell Frei 14. John Te Reo 15. Jon Grieve 16. Stephen Coombe 17. Tanu Wulf
