EASTS V WYNNUM Manly
KOUGARI OVAL- Sunday 16th August 2009

TIGERS DAY OFF MAY PROVE FATAL.

After a second half of the season that was highlighted by some wonderful displays of tenacity and determination, a listless effort against a very good Wynnum side has plunged the Tigers back amongst the also rans of this years competition and it will take a remarkable turn around for them to finish the season in the top six.

STATE LEAGUE

Easts supporters were given an early glimpse of what was to come when the ball was dropped from the kick off and Wynnum were held up over the line in their first attack of the day. From there it was all downhill as a strangely lethargic Tigers team were completely outclassed on the day by an enthusiastic Wynnum side.

The Seagulls were first to score and the Tigers managed to cross the line twice in the early stages only for the ball to be lost forward both times. The Seagulls raced to an 18 - nil lead before two pieces of individual brilliance put the Tigers back in the contest. Liam Campbels swerved and jinxed his way across field to score a great individual try then Arana Taumata kicked a valuable 40 / 20 kick into touch and weaved his way through the defence from the resultant scrum to put the Tigers only six points adrift. However, the teamwork by the Seagulls was proving too good for the Tigers with the defence on the edges of the ruck particularly fragile and Wynnum were to score gain before halftime to regain control.

The second half was a one way street with the Tigers defence being broken at will and it was only in the dying minutes with the game well and truly over that the good guys were able to add two tries to make the final scoreline a very deceptive 44 - 22.

Easts supporters can now only look forward to a strong showing against the arch rivals from Redcliffe this weekend and then pray for a miracle as the loss has seen them plummet from fifth to ninth in the race for the final six.

How Others Saw The Game

Wynnum Manly Seagulls 44
Tries: Simon Phillips 2, Chris Muckert 2, Shaun Cotter, Jason Moon, John Peterson, Jim O Brien
Goals: Matt Seamark 6
defeated
Easts Tigers 22
Tries: Arana Taumata 2, Liam Campbell, Alex Fata
Goals: Nathan Pill 3

First Scorers: Easts 3 (Liam Campbell) - Wynnum 11 (Chris Muckert)

FOGS CUP

Once again this side almost managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, letting a 16 - nil half time lead evaporate before a dramatic after the bell field goal by Dane Phillips saw the side home.

Though never headed, the Tigers were given a mighty fright and looked to have the two points secured when awarded a penalty just to the right of the uprights in the dying minutes. Incredibly, the sharp shooting Steven West dragged the attempt wide.

With only seconds remaining Wynnum knocked the ball on at a play-the-ball twenty metres out and the Tigers rushed to form a scrum and stop the clock for a final play. It appeared the referee was not going to rule time out and the game would run down when the Tigers finally got all the hands and heads in the right places with the super accurate Wynnum clock showing 0.9 seconds left when the time out was finally called.

The cool head of Dane Phillips prevailed from the scrum win with a drop kick that wasn't pretty but could yet prove the vital play for the season, should results next week favour the Tigers.

Easts Tigers 17
Tries: Rickie Dodd, Dane Phillips, Steven West
Goals: Steven West 2
Field Goal: Dane Phillips
defeated
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 16
Tries: Aaron Brown, Wade Bachmann, Leon Panapa
Goals: Ben Green 2

FOGS COLTS

The Tiger Cubs raced away to a convincing half time lead and then clocked off completely in the second half failing to complete a set of six tacklers in possession until the last five minutes of the game.

Despite the Seagull's overwhelming advantage in possession, the good news for the Tigers was that their defence conceded only two tries in the half.

The display was hardly the type of football required to win Semi-finals but coaches Scott Tronc and Brett LeMan are sure to stress that point to the players over the coming weeks.

Should the team defeat Redcliffe this weekend they are guaranteed second spot on the table - a wonderful effort by what is a young team.

Let us hope that the best is yet to come.

Easts Tigers 30
Tries: Eddie Tautali 2, Komisi Umu, Steve Tyrrell, James Tutuila, Kerryn Blake
Goals: Lachlan Hall 3
defeated
Wynnum Manly Seagulls 12
Tries: Tom McMillan, Matt Duncan
Goals: Dan Dewhurst 2