WYNNUM-Manly has fallen short in its opening round performance of the Hostplus Cup at BMD Kougari Oval, but not before delivering some encouraging signs for fans in the 2026 season.
The Seagulls went down 24-16 to the Souths-Logan Magpies on Saturday, in a quality clash before a solid home crowd as the QRL’s topline competition got underway.
Coach Matthew Head has high hopes for the current Seagulls squad, and a strong off-season coupled with astute recruiting has given the club plenty of reasons to anticipate success.
Souths though came to play and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after five minutes following a try to winger Phranklyn Mano-Le-Mamea.
The home side hit back in the 16th minute, after a Souths error while in attack 10 metres saw light-stepping winger Antonio Verhoeven set off on a jinking run that took the Seagulls past half way and set up an ideal field position to launch.
New half Ryley Jacks took charge on the last, with the former Melbourne Storm and Wests Tigers NRL player landing a last tackle kick at the Wynnum-Manly Leagues Cub end of the ground.
To the delight of the Wynnum faithful, the contested bomb saw the ball land nicely for skipper Brendan Frei who scooped up the loose possession and plunged over for the try.
Winger Adam Lobb landed the conversion to put Wynnum in front 6-4.
Wynnum then mounted a period of sustained attack. Prop Joshua Couric lead the charge and was backed by the lively backrow of NRL experienced Bayley Sironen, in his first game for the club, and Broncos contracted Jaiyden Hunt.
Verhoeven was unlucky not to score in the corner after Hunt had forced a Souths error, but the momentum shifted shortly after that as the Magpies regained control of the ruck and began to get quicker, cleaner attacking opportunities,
In the 26th minute, the Magpies took advantage of some quick play-the-balls for dummy-half Callum Eggerling to plunge over from a neat offload from prop Preston Riki.
The conversion by Broncos contracted half Tom Duffy saw a 10-6 scoreline in the visitors’ favour.
Wynnum built back into the game, and following some searching runs from five-eighth Chaz Jarvis and livewire fullback Ben Farr, they seized on an opportunity with less than five minutes in the half.
Quick hands from centres Ethan Quai-Ward and ex-Melbourne Storm back Grant Anderson saw Lobb score in the corner.
With the conversion unsuccessful, a half-time scored of 10-10 seemed likely.
But after Wynnum’s defence had repelled a last-ditch attacking raid, a penalty in the play the ball on the stroke of the break delivered two points to Souths and a 12-10 scoreline.
The Magpies flew highest when the second half resumed, as centre Kienan Tempest blew past defenders to dive on a Duffy grubber into the in-goal after just three minutes of play.
Another conversion pushed the lead out to 18-10.
Urged on by their fans in the Chook Pen, as well as new mascot ‘Steven C. Gull’, the home side locked into a dogged battle as they attempted to close the gap.
Points proved difficult for both teams, despite each getting into decent field position in more than one occasion, only for determined defence in the red zone snuffing out promising attacking moments.
As time ticked away, Souths finally broke through, with Eggerling nabbing his second try of the match in the 71st minute.
The 24-10 score galvanised the Seagulls, and they hit back a minute later when Verhoeven flashed over out wide off a neat cut-out pass from Farr.
Lobb landed the sideline conversion to close the score to 24-16.
With less than two minutes to go, a Wynnum raid from their own half almost had Verhoeven into space only for the final pass to go begging.
Final score: Souths 24 (C Eggerling 2, P Mano-Le-Mamea tries; M Duffy 4 goals) def Wynnum-Manly 16 (B Frei, A Lobb, A Verhoeven tries; A Lobb 2 goals).
In other results on the day, the Seagulls flew high in the Mal Meninga Cup with Wynnum-Manly 30 defeating the Capras 6, and Cyril Connell Cup with Wynnum-Manly 38 defeating Capras 6.
Wynnum-Manly make the trek north to Port Moresby for their second-round game on Sunday against the PNG Hunters.
Their next home game is on Sunday March 22 against the Dolphins at 3pm.
