RLGC 2020: ‘No b----ing’: Runaway Bay’s secret to success
Runaway Bay didn’t expect to find itself on top of the Rugby League Gold Coast ladder this week but the Seagulls are planning on staying there for the rest of the competition.
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Runaway Bay didn’t expect to find itself on top of the Rugby League Gold Coast ladder this week but the Seagulls are planning on staying there for the rest of the competition.
Mudgeeraba’s stunning 20-18 comeback win over previous leaders Burleigh saw Runaway Bay leapfrog the Bears into first with a 28-18 win over mercurial Tugun.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
“I haven’t seen the club this happy in a while,” A Grade coach Nick Gleeson said.
“No guys are missing training, we’ve had no in-house b----ing.
“We’re just a happy club and the results are reflecting that at the moment.
“We know we have to keep winning and keep improving as a footy side and hopefully we’ll get to the end playing good footy.”
A blockbuster clash with Burleigh looms in two weeks but the Seagulls aren’t looking that far ahead yet.
A banana-peel game with the Currumbin Eagles is on their doorstep.
The Eagles have won one-from-four this season and any more losses could knock them out of finals contention.
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Their desperation to climb the ladder will ensure they are at their best.
“The results probably don’t reflect their games, they’re playing good footy but they’ve been let down in certain areas due to forced changes each week.
“Once they get their continuity right I think they have the best roster in the comp.
“They need to win on Saturday or they’ll potentially miss the finals so our boys know they’re in for a big one.”
The halves duel between Runaway Bay’s Guy Hamilton, imported from Souths Logan in Brisbane, and Talor Walters, of the Tweed Seagulls, will grab the headlines but the tussle between two experienced packs will be decisive.
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EARLIER
The Mudgeeraba Redbacks have delivered the upset of the Gold Coast sporting year, becoming the first team in Gold Coast Rugby League A Grade to defeat the Burleigh Bears, 20-18.
Heading in to round five the Redbacks had conceded 80 points across three games, with just one victory over the hot-and-cold Tugun Seahawks.
Burleigh had scored 168 points across four matches, including the Grand Final rematch with Southport.
When Burleigh centre Taine Tuaupiki streaked away for a 70 metre runaway try to bring up an 18-nil lead at halftime the game looked put to bed.
There was no chance Mudgeeraba, in their fourth A Grade fixture since promotion, could do what heavyweights Southport, Currumbin, Tugun and the Ormeau Shearers could not.
But no one appeared to have mentioned that to the Redbacks.
When five-eighth Will Brimson stretched out to score in the 45th minute there was polite applause.
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When a cutout-pass found winger Josh Bukowski unmarked for the Redbacks’ second, four minutes later, eyebrows started to raise.
When Bukowski went in for his double in the 57th minute alarm bells started ringing. And when centre Dylan Pelo bumped off a goal line tackle to tie the game up, 18-all, in the 75th minute there was stunned silence from the Burleigh crowd.
With the momentum of a runaway freight train Mudgeeraba shaped twice to kick matchwinning field goals only to be charged down or hassled out of taking the shot.
In their haste, Burleigh rushed up from an off-side position to stop Mudgeeraba’s second shot, drawing the referee’s whistle for a penalty.
Halfback Kyle Williams, who had connected on just one goal from his four attempts, stepped up to the plate to steal the most famous win in the club’s short A Grade history.
His strike was true, sending the underdog Redbacks into delirium.
In the battle between third and fourth on ladder it was the lower-ranked Southport Tigers who prevailed over Currumbin at Merv Craig Recreation Park, 34-10.
Fullback Kobi Annand and winger Curtis Dansey-Smaller crossed for doubles in the seven tries to two win.
At Tugun, visitors Runaway Bay notched a 10-point victory, 28-18.
Winger Queille Murray scored a double.
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