Match report presented by George Hartnett Metropolitan Funerals
BMD Wynnum Manly Seagulls hosted the Brisbane Tigers in the final round of the Hostplus Cup on Sunday.
Known as our annual Paul Green Medal Day, the final round saw a bumper crowd swarm on BMD Kougari Oval for multiple reasons.
To kick off the day, the Seagulls hosted our 1984 Premiership team for their 40-year anniversary. The event was a full house, with 50% of the proceeds from the lunch going to the Australian Sports Brain Bank – a leading Australian charity that researches the cause and effects of CTE in sportspeople.
Following the lunch, the Wynnum Manly legends played against the Easts legends for the BMD-Bartons Cup. This game is played in memory of Paul Green, who played at Easts and coached Wynnum Manly’s most recent premierships. Wynnum Manly came out on top 16-8.
Paul’s kids, Emerson and Jed, led out the two Hostplus Cup teams onto the field to the tune of Pete Murray’s ‘Seen Better Days’, in QRL’s Turn To Me Round – a men’s mental health initiative.
The Seagulls got off to a flyer and were unlucky to have 2 tries disallowed within the first 10 minutes. They maintained their momentum as Matt Milson sliced through a gap to beat the fullback and score under the posts in the 10th minute.
Sione Hopoate and Connor Broadhurst, after being disallowed earlier, scored in quick succession in the 20th and 24th minutes. 16-0 Seagulls.
The Tigers hit back through former QLD Origin player Chris McQueen, before Ethan Malt pounced on an Easts knock-on and ran 20m to score his first Hostplus Cup try.
Easts snuck in just before the break to take the Seagulls momentum away and bring the score to 22-12 at halftime.
The Tigers were in again shortly after halftime and closed the gap to 22-18. Then in the 59th minute, the Tigers hit the front for the first time 24-22.
Seagulls captain Brendan Frei, led by example and grabbed a Bryce Donovan kick to score under the posts and put his team back in the lead 28-24
Then with 5 minutes to go, the Tigers broke the Seagulls hearts with a try, and successful conversion, to lead 30-28.
A final minute penalty to the Tigers ensured their victory, and confirmed an 8th place finish in the 2024 season for the Seagulls.
This result means a trip to Papua New Guinea to take on the Hunters on Saturday afternoon. The most daunting away trip in the league, but a game that the Seagulls will be up for.
Tune in on QPlus.tv on Saturday at 4pm to watch the Seagulls vs Hunters in an elimination final.