Round 1
Tweed Heads 14 l. Redcliffe Dolphins 38

2008 Wizard Queensland Cup Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats]

Location: Australia > Queensland > State/Metropolitan Level Competition: Wizard Queensland Cup

Classy Cullen Ensures Revenge
Mon March 17, 2008
Source: www.qrl.com.au

A sizzling second-half try from Redcliffe fullback Ryan Cullen broke the hearts of Tweed Heads fans on Saturday, with the Dolphins going on to win the grand final re-match 38-14 at Cudgen.

Standing at first receiver from a scrum inside Tweed's 20m zone, Cullen darted across field; dummying, stepping and finally straightening to bewilder a retreating Tweed backline.

The try sealed the result for the Dolphins and came shortly after Tweed posted their own dazzler through debutant winger Jonathan Freeman.

Tweed's roster was a shell of last seasons.

The Michael Woods-coached team was let down by handling errors (four inside the first 10 minutes) and poor discipline, which ensured a lopsided penalty count.

Tweed's frustrations grew when Matthew Pow was sin-binned in the 48th minute.

"That sin binning was warranted. The referee (Justin Eastwood) warned us and we kept doing silly things like leg pulls," Woods said.

However, Woods was not so sold on the referee's crackdown on the ruck.

"The interpretations were different to what I expected," Woods said.

"I'll have to get that checked out and see what we are supposed to be doing."

Despite Tweed's high-error count, the Dolphins only lead by 10 points with 15 minutes remaining.

If it wasn't for a forward pass deep in Dolphins territory, Tweed would have gone to within a converted try.

However, two sets of six after the illegal pass and Cullen, sporting a beard Ned Kelly would be proud of, blitzed the young Tweed backline, whose oldest player was James Woods at 24.

Cullen and Mitchell Rivett grabbed further tries to blow the score out, but Redcliffe were undoubtedly the better team on the day.

The Dolphins were lead superbly by hooker Mick Roberts and centre Chris Fox, who was named man of the match.

Woods conceded the Dolphins handled the warm conditions better than his side.

Woods was most impressed with young half, Matthew Nuttall, who made some great incisions and pulled off a stunning cover tackle on Redcliffe flyer Liam Georgetown.

"The way he went out there was great," Woods said of Nuttall.

"I was really pleased with all the young guys; they made me proud the way they stood up."

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