Round 4 of the Hastings Deering Colts saw a new team stand up to take top place on the competition ladder, knocking Redcliffe Dolphins out of first spot for the first time this season.
While the Dolphins still remain undefeated, the Tweed Seagulls flexed their muscle in a mixed weekend of runaway victories and close wins.
Here is a wrap of Round 4 of the Colts competition.
Game of the week
The Mackay Cutters remain undefeated after the opening four rounds of competition, after claiming a nailbiting victory over the Burleigh Bears over the weekend.
With three wins and one bye to their name so far this year, the Cutters are building a promising campaign in the early stages of the season.
Their latest win – a 22-14 triumph over Burleigh – not only kept them in the top five on the ladder but was a hard-fought victory they can be proud of.
The Cutters held a 12-4 lead at halftime and extended that to 18-4 in the 53rd minute, when a kick from five-eighth Henri Stocks rebounded off the defence for a perfect pick up from William Gething.
But the Bears had plenty of belief to fight their way back into the game at BB Print Stadium, taking less than 10 minutes to respond.
Fullback Hunter Ploegsma put second rower Adam Christensen through a gap and the towering forward bolted towards the line to get the Bears within striking distance at 18-10.
Christensen then played a hand in another try for Burleigh in the 69th minute, getting a fast pass away to Cruz Lasike who put Jeremaiah Tamepo over to make Mackay nervous at 18-14.
Burleigh continued to put plenty of pressure on the home team and certainly threatened on several occasions to equal the game.
But the Cutters’ class shone through in defence, holding out the Bears time and time again until their moment came to seal the win with one minute left on the clock.
In one of the trick plays of the season, Tyrese Parter went into dummy-half and shot a between-the-legs pass out to Kai Simon on the wing, who darted over to score and wrap the game up at 22-14.
Other scores
Redcliffe Dolphins 32 def Central Queensland Capras 24
Western Clydesdales 56 def Northern Pride 22
Tweed Seagulls 48 def Souths Logan Magpies 10
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 64 def Ipswich Jets 0
Brisbane Tigers 22 def Norths Devils 4
Byes: Townsville Blackhawks, Sunshine Coast Falcons
Mover of the week
The Hastings Deering Colts has a new competition leader for the first time this season, as the Tweed Seagulls leapfrogged Redcliffe to take top spot on the ladder.
The undefeated Seagulls claimed a very strong 48-10 win over Souths Logan Magpies at Logan Metro Sports Complex on Saturday to strengthen their for-and-against to 108 points.
Redcliffe also remain undefeated, notching up a tight 32-24 win over the Central Queensland Capras in Round 4.
There are now four teams who are yet to suffer a loss in the Colts competition, but it is only the third-placed Brisbane Tigers who are yet to have a bye, with the Mark Gliddon-coached side the only team with four wins under their belt.
The Tigers will earn a well-deserved break in Round 5 after a stunning opening month of competition.
Shout outs
There were a number of big wins in Round 4 of the competition, as Tweed, Wynnum Manly and Western Clydesdales all scored 48 points or more.
For Tweed, standouts included prop Jesse Jackson with one try, 129 run metres, three tackle busts and one line break in a 50-minute stint, while lock Jordan Stewart-Lewis ran for 148 metres and had one tackle bust, but also made 28 tackles.
Backrower Reico Ratana was also destructive with 131 run metres, one try assist, one line break assist, three tackle breaks and 20 tackles.
And centre Malakhi Donovan continued his red-hot form for Tweed with a hat-trick, 190 run metres, one line break assist, two line breaks and eight tackle busts.
For Wynnum Manly, prop John Radel led strongly from the front, scoring one try, notching up a mind-blowing 245 run metres, one line break assist, 17 tackles and zero missed in a 65-minute performance, which also earned him the title of Heavy Lifter this week.
Heavy lifter: John Radel
Hooker Tyree Bowman and second rower Tieran Ross both nabbed doubles for the Seagulls while centre Nathaniel Tangimataiti scored a hat-trick, ran for 170 metres, had three line breaks and six tackle busts in a huge attacking performance. Fellow centre Sefa Roache-Taimalo had one try, two try assists, 170 run metres, four line break assists, one line break, six tackle busts and two offloads.
Meanwhile, five-eighth Cassius Cowley topped off a superb Wynnum Manly team performance with 179 run metres, three try assists, seven tackle busts, one line break assist and one line break.
For the Clydesdales, winger Hopoate Finau and centre Bailey Nash were destructive with ball in hand. Finau had two tries, 228 run metres, two line breaks and five tackle busts while Nash also scored a double and had 180 run metres, two try assists, two line break assists, three line breaks and eight tackle breaks.
Elsewhere, Redcliffe centre John Fineanganofo continued to thrive in his promotion from Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup to Colts, with a stunning effort against Central Queensland that included one try and a try assist, 144 run metres, two line breaks and a jaw-dropping 15 tackle breaks.
Northern Pride prop Bill Salameh notched up 220 run metres, while Mackay’s Ethan Sweet ran for 216 metres against Burleigh.
Also for the Cutters, Baden Robinson and Kobe Bone worked tirelessly through the middle, making 31 and 33 tackles respectively, while Burleigh’s Seth Nikotemo made 36 tackles on the opposite side of the park.