Tweed's cruciate curse

THE Tweed Seagulls have been rocked after scans confirmed skipper Cheyne Whitelaw is out for the season with a ruptured ACL.

But Whitelaw told the Tweed Daily News he is adamant the Seagulls' mounting injury toll will not put a handbrake on a fairytale run to an unlikely finals' berth.

Whitelaw's injury comes just a fortnight after team-mate and the Intrust Super Cup's then leading try scorer Brayden McGrady was also ruled out for the year with an ACL.

A tackling machine who had galvanised his club since returning from a dislocated wrist early in the year, Whitelaw has made a huge impression in his short time with Tweed.

The Seagulls were thrilled to land the number 13 after his stand-out season for North Sydney in 2017, which earned him a starting spot on the Intrust Super Premiership NSW team of the year.

Seagulls CEO Paul Stephenson said Whitelaw's loss will be deeply felt at Piggabeen.

"It's a huge loss for us,” Stephenson said. "In the last couple of weeks it's been a big hit losing Brayden to a season-ending ACL and now our skipper too.

"Cheyne has been a big part of our resurgence over the past couple of months and been central to driving a positive and accountable team culture.

"We'll do everything to make sure he's still a part of that and do everything we can go to make sure he's Seagull next year and remains a part of what we have building here.”

Just two weeks ago, Whitelaw was rallying the troops after the loss of Brayden McGrady, who was the Seagulls' attacking ace.

Now they are without their skipper and defensive backbone, and Whitelaw's message for his club remains the same.

"We've got so much young talent coming through, and we've still got massive faith in the boys,” Whitelaw said.

"We aren't going to change the way we play. Our aim is to play finals. I'm really looking forward to seeing how we perform in the coming weeks.”