Wynnum-Manly bounced back from their opening round Hostplus Cup loss to soar overseas as they upset hometown heroes PNG Hunters in Port Moresby on Sunday.
The Hunters have made Santos National Stadium their fortress in recent seasons, with the Seagulls losing eight of their past nine games in Papua New Guinea and also dropping their past four away games last season.
With a half-time score of 20-4 against them, the signs did not look encouraging for the visitors to break those streaks.
However, coach Matthew Head was adamant coming into the competition that the squad’s fitness and off-season preparations had them well-placed to go far this season.
His belief in the playing group and his off-field team was vindicated in 40 minutes, as the Seagulls stormed to a 28-20 victory, with their conditioning and skills lifting them to an important win.
Broncos-contracted Antonio Verhoeven, mentioned in media discussions during the week as a potential trade offering to the NZ Warriors for next season as part of Brisbane signing prop Mitch Barnett, displayed his obvious finishing qualities to score two tries.
The strapping former Australian Schoolboys star got the Seagulls on the board in the 28th minute after the Hunters had confidently strode out to a 20-0 lead.
Wynnum lost five-eighth Chaz Jarvis mid-way through the first half with a knee injury, forcing a backline reshuffle, with Tieran Ross coming on as his replacement.
A set restart on attack gave Wynnum their chance and a sweet pass from Ryley Jacks put Ross into space, drawing the last defender and sending his winger over to score untouched.
The half-time break gave Wynnum-Manly the chance to re-set and the second half provided a different game as they piled on four unanswered tries.
The Seagulls lifted the tempo in the second stanza, completing more back-to-back sets, and finding more space as the Hunters fell into ill-discipline and errors as the momentum turned.
Again, livewire Seagulls fullback Ben Parr flourished when given room to move.
He nabbed two second half tries, including a dart from dummy half to open the second half scoring, and had three clean line-breaks in the match.
A Hostplus Cup stand-out for several seasons, Parr’s combination with his outside backs and around the ruck created issues for the Hunters’ defensive line on numerous instances when he had them in two minds with the ball in hand.
His cut-out to Verhoeven in the 49th minute put the big winger over for his second try to narrow the lead to 20-16, with the reliable boot of fellow winger Alex Lobb nailing a booming sideline conversion.
Parr levelled the scores in the 66th minute, again sneaking over from dummy half after sustained attack, with Lobb unable to land the conversion.
However, a Lobb penalty goal in the 73rd minute put Wynnum closer to a win.
Mobile prop Josh Couric scored the final try in the last minute of regular time, crashing over from dummy-half to cap off an impressive outing that featured 204 running metres in his 63 minutes on the field.
Hooker Cam Bukowski topped the tackle count with 30 tackles and the team’s defensive structure excelled the longer the match went on, repelling the Hunters’ increasingly desperate attacking raids.
Wynnum will be at home at BMD Kougari Oval on Sunday this weekend in the traditional bayside clash with Redcliffe Dolphins from 3.10pm.
Other weekend results:
Mal Meninga Cup – Wynnum-Manly def Bears 24-22
Cyril Connell Cup – Wynnum-Manly def Bears 16
