UQ skipper Brad Twidale produced a clutch performance at flyhalf to help his side hand Brothers their first defeat since July 15 last year. 

The Red Heavies led Brothers 25-17 with 15 minutes remaining following a sideline conversion and two penalty goals from Twidale.

UQ conceded a try with 10 minutes remaining but then repelled several attacking raids from the defending premiers in the closing stages. 

“It was good to get the win to kickstart our season,” Twidale told Rugby News. 

“We’ve had some mixed results and produced some performances we weren’t too happy with in the early rounds but despite that I felt like we were still heading in the right direction. 

“There wasn’t anything specific that we did differently against Brothers, I think we just got our preparation and our mindset right and that allowed us to play the way we want to play this year.”

Trailing by three points, Brothers attacked from a lineout close to UQ’s line in the 79th minute but couldn’t find a way through the stoic defence of the home side despite holding the ball for well over 10 phases. 

The defending premiers had all the momentum in the final 15 minutes, but the Red Heavies found a way to hold on for an important victory. 

“If you want to go deep in this competition, you’ve got to find a way to win close games and that’s something we really struggled with last year,” Twidale said. 

“We spent a lot of our preseason working on our game management and looking for ways to close out tight games so it was pleasing to be able to do that so early on in the year.”

Twidale kicked four from five on Saturday afternoon, while Brothers converted just one of their four tries. 

The 25-year old, who has played more than 70 Premier Rugby matches, said he’s put a lot of time in to his goal kicking and his game management as he pushes for a crack at professional rugby. 

“We’ve got some good goal kicking options in the side but it’s an area of my game that I like working on and I’m hitting them pretty sweetly at the moment,” he said. 

“As a player in clubland, everyone is pushing for a crack at the next level but at the same time I’m also really enjoying playing for UQ.

“If I keep working hard and testing myself here, then hopefully an opportunity pops up.”

Twidale works as a commercial property valuer in Brisbane but coach Elton Berrange thinks he may need to put work to the side at some stage, when an opportunity at the next level eventually comes. 

“He’s really hungry after getting a few sniffs last year and he’s still so young, even though he’s been around in Premier Rugby for quite a while,” Berrange told Rugby News earlier this year. 

“I think he could be the best player in the competition this season and I don’t think it’ll be long until someone at the next level realises that.”

While it’s hard to argue with Berrange’s opinion based on Twidale’s most recent performance, the playmaker said his focus is solely at St Lucia for the moment heading into crucial matches against Easts and Souths before a bye in round seven. 

In the weekend’s other results, Bond held off a fast finishing Norths outfit to claim their first win of the season, while GPS beat Sunnybank and Souths defeated Easts. 

“It’s a really tight competition with a lot of close games every round,” Twidale said. 

“Every week this year, teams are going to have to be up for it or I think they’ll find themselves in some sticky situations. 

“It’s going to be a really tight race for the top four. The teams that are able to build continually throughout the season will probably be the ones to beat come finals time and hopefully we are one of them.”