The XXXX Rivalry Round hoodoo has been broken.
After losing the eight previous clashes with neighbours and fellow Gold Coast Titans feeder team Burleigh Bears, the Tweed Seagulls ended the drought with a pulsating 16-12 victory at Piggabeen Sports Complex.
Ahead 4-0 at half-time after a physical first half of relentless vigour, but 12-4 behind after 11 minutes of the second half, the Seagulls scored two tries in the last 23 minutes to secure a victory that puts them, temporarily at least, in the top four.
It was Tweed’s first victory against Burleigh since 2015 and takes their tally to nine victories from their past 12 games since the second half of 2019, confirming they are a genuine finals candidates.
And at the heart of it was a tireless performance by Titans forward Sam McIntyre who was a stand-out for the Seagulls in effort and effectiveness in his 61 minutes on the field, the first 50 in the one stint from the kick-off.
“It’s the first time that I felt we won the physical battle this season,” Seagulls coach Ben Woolf said.
“That was a win full of character. We had to do a lot of D in the first half and it was a great effort to come in at half-time in front.
“Every player did his job, including our smaller guys like Toby Sexton, Lindon McGrady and Jayden Campbell who were obviously targeted defensively.
“But Sam McIntyre was enormous for us; he really stood up and had plenty of commitment around him.
“We made some errors, sure, but we defended the errors really well and our speed and physicality of our defensive line was outstanding. That was a really tough derby game; a real grind – Burleigh took it to us.”
The first half produced only one scoring play with former NRL and Super League winger Fetuli Talanoa crossing in the left corner 90 seconds before half-time.
