Melbourne Storm’s feeder teams — the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Brisbane Tigers, and North Sydney Bears — were all in action over the weekend, competing in Round 19 of the Queensland Cup and Round 22 of the NSW Cup.
Sunshine Coast Falcons
The Falcons made it back-to-back wins with a strong performance on the weekend, defeating the Tweed Seagulls 24-12.
Sunshine Coast dominated early, controlling the first half and scoring three unanswered tries to take an 18-0 lead into the break.
The Seagulls came out a different side in the second half, scoring two early tries to close the gap. However, a late try from Lazarus Vaalepu sealed the win for the Falcons.
Jonah Pezet and Lazarus Vaalepu both featured prominently and played key roles in the victory.
The Falcons will enjoy a bye this weekend before taking on the Central Queensland Capras on Saturday 9 August at 4pm.
Brisbane Tigers
The Brisbane Tigers claimed a solid 26-12 win over the Mackay Cutters on Saturday.
The first half was a tight contest, with the Tigers holding a narrow 4-0 lead at the break. Brisbane found their rhythm in the second half, running in four tries to secure a hard-fought win.
Coby Williamson, Keagan Russell-Smith, and Josiah Pahulu all featured and logged important minutes. Russell-Smith also crossed for a vital try to help seal the result.
The Tigers will look to build on their momentum in two weeks' time when they face the Tweed Seagulls on Sunday.
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears were narrowly defeated 22-24 by the Western Suburbs Magpies in a thrilling contest.
The Bears had a slow start, with the Magpies dominating the first half to lead 18-0 at the break.
North Sydney came out firing in the second half, scoring the opening try and adding three more. However, a missed conversion ultimately proved costly.
Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown and Gabriel Satrick were among the Bears' best, with Tuimalatu-Brown scoring a crucial try to keep North Sydney in the fight.
The Bears will aim to bounce back this Sunday when they face the Newcastle Knights.
