By William Crutcher
Norths’ defensive wall held across the second half to earn the Devils their ninth win of the season with a 28-14 Hostplus Cup victory over the Tweed Seagulls at Bishop Park yesterday.
In driving rain, the Devils kept Tweed scoreless for the last 47 minutes, showing their squad depth with injuries sidelining premiership winners Jack Ahearn, Jacob Gagan, James Flack and Jerome Veve and in-form forward Jackson Shereb.
The Devils welcomed back two-time premiership prop Ben Nakubuwai, playing his first game for the club since 2022, and five-eighth Ben Stevanovic along with selection for backs Tony Tumusa and Kane Rushton.
Captain Kierran Moseley joined with Dolphins halfback Sean O’Sullivan – the only NRL affiliate player in the Devils line-up – for a crucial try in the 46th minute which pushed the home team eight points clear.
Moseley’s short kick from 35 metres out on the last tackle bobbled in the rain for O’Sullivan to chip ahead to score.
When O’Sullivan took on the Tweed line and scored again 20 minutes later, the Devils had done enough to stretch their season record to 9-1, maintaining top spot on the ladder.
The Devils had to dig deep after Tweed scored 16 points in a 13-minute frame in the first half with one try down each edge in the 21st and 28th minutes followed by a line-break for bench forward Joseph Vuna to score to cut the margin to two points.
“The conditions were testing and the players defended their line well against a good team,” Devils coach Rohan Smith said.
“It’s always about the effort of the whole squad and we had players who stepped in when others weren’t available and did their jobs well.
“This is not an easy competition and we have another test next weekend so we’ll prepare for that.”
The Devils had a dream start. Tweed skipper Lindon McGrady fielded a routine Devils clearing kick on his own line, only to slip over and lose control of the ball for centre Blake Paskins to score before a minute had ticked by.
Winger Manase Kaho was excellent 11 minutes later when he knocked through four Tweed defenders to offload to forward Sam Elliot playing his 50th game for Norths. That was Elliott’s fourth try in his last four games.
O’Sullivan was in the action again in the 24th minute as his grubber sat up for edge forward Lachlan Lewis to score. Lewis was one of four Devils juniors in yesterday’s team.
Norths made four changes to the team that beat the Cutters in Mackay last weekend, enabling Wyatt Reynolds, Tumusa and Zach Brooks to start.
Prop Peter Hola continues to play well while versatile forward Lauloto Salei played 70 minutes, starting at hooker before captain Moseley joined from the bench in the 24th minute in his second match back from injury.
Stevanovic’s return from a broken toe enabled coach Smith to adjust his backline, moving Jordan Lipp into the centres while Matthew Milson again started at fullback.
Nakubuwai played 25 minutes in his first match back from three years in the UK Super League while skilled forward Brody Tamurua continues to build into the season with his third consecutive match.
The Devils play the Brisbane Tigers at Langlands Park next Sunday before a bye. They will then head to Townsville to take on second-placed Blackhawks before their next home game on 29 June against Souths.
NORTHS DEVILS 28 (Sean O’Sullivan 2, Blake Paskins, Sam Elliot, Lachlan Lewis tries, Jordan Lipp 4 goals) bt TWEED SEAGULLS 14 (Kieran Hayman, Jay Kirk, Joseph Vuna tries, Kieran Hayman one goal) at Bishop Park.
Photo by Alan Drinnen
