Our Tilermade Hostplus Cup squad made the journey down to the Tamborine Mountain Showgrounds on Saturday for their Country Week clash with the Burleigh Bears.
In true Souths fashion, the boys put on a compelling performance and walked away with the win against the top 3 team.
Burleigh dominated early with two converted tries in the first 10 minutes. Souths responded with persistence, narrowing the halftime gap to 12-10 in Burleigh's favour.
After a halftime pep talk from Hostplus Cup Head Coach Karmichael Hunt, the boys returned with renewed energy in the second half.
Their improved speed in attack helped Glen Vaihu get over the line for his first of two tries in his Hostplus Cup debut. Vaihu is a union convert that traded the Melbourne Rebels for the Magpies earlier in the season.
Glen Vaihu scoring a try on debut. Photo by Erick Lucero via QRL.
Reflecting on his journey, Vaihu said,"I always wanted to go to league and play since I was young. I just felt the time was right, I had experienced playing union professionally for the Melbourne rebels and was on the verge of potentially going overseas. But I knew I would have regretted it if I went and stayed overseas without giving rugby league a crack."
In his 40-minute appearance on Saturday, Vaihu proved himself a valuable asset to the team. Saturday's full time score was 30-18 to Souths. The team hope to build on this weekends performance and bring the momentum into their clash with Blackhawks at Jack Manski Oval.