Reynolds Kicks Cowboys to loss
5 hours ago | Andrew Ferguson
The visiting Easts Tigers spoiled the party in the opening
fixture at the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles' new stadium with an
entertaining 38-28 victory on Saturday.
Although winless
this season, the Sunshine Coast held their own in a heartening
performance and finished the match strongly in a four-try-a-piece
second half.
Easts coach Troy McCarthy paid tribute to his side
for doing enough to beat a Sea Eagles outfit who were desperate to
christen their stadium with a maiden 2011 victory.
"It was a great win considering the circumstances."
"We've had poor form and for us to come out and respond like that [and win] - I thought it was excellent," he said.
McCarthy
also commented that the win was a step in the right direction but the
mentor stressed the importance of consistency and executing under
pressure.
"We're trying to work on a few extra things
(including) more ball movement. We're playing a lot of bash and brawn
footy and we don't really have the type of players to do that. We're
trying to use it more basically."
In a nervous start, the
Sunshine Coast failed to complete their opening set and the Tigers
capitalised when Kev Stephensen supported a nifty offload from centre
Lance Morris to open proceedings.
Easts then stretched their lead to 12-nil after Elijah Niko pounced on the scraps from a cross-field kick.
Livewire
custodian Hughie Stanley brought the home crowd alive with a turn of
pace to post the inaugural Sea Eagles' try on their new home turf in
the 23rd minute.
However, it was Easts who took a 16-6 ascendency into the sheds thanks to a Morris four-pointer.
When
the teams returned, the Tigers roared ahead when Matt Zgrajewski
strolled over and Adam Breen touched down off an opposition error,
giving the visitors an ominous 28-6 advantage.
To their credit,
Sunshine Coast didn't give in as the sides went tit-for-tat throughout
an enterprising and occasionally heated forty minutes.
The Sea
Eagles then finished with a flurry, crossing twice within the final
five minutes through Maa Ruua and the speedy Stanley to reduce the
final margin to a respectable ten points.
In a win that sees
Easts leapfrog Central Comets on the ladder, McCarthy nominated
powerful second rower Leon Panapa as the standout individual.
"He was dangerous with the ball and I thought he was the most dangerous player on the field actually," he said.
The team that took the field:
1. Kev Stephensen (c) 2. Adam Breen 15. Lance Morris 4. Liam Campbell 5. Elijah Niko 6. Dane Chisholm 7. Isaac Kaufmann 8. James Stosic 9. Geoff Holcombe 10. Mark Offerdahl 11. Steve Thorpe 12. Leon Panapa 13. Anthony Boyd
Interchange: 14. Matt Zgrajewski 17. McKanah Gibson 19. Liufau Hala 21. John Leiataua
Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles - 28
Tries: Hughie Stanley 2, Maa Ruua, Nick Swan, Robert Congoo
Goals: Joel McCrea 4
Easts Tigers - 38
Tries: Kevin Stephensen 2, Adam Breen, Elijah Niko, Dane Chisholm, Matt Zgrajewski, Lance Morris
Goals: Dane Chisholm 5
For all the lower grade reports and Easts news visit their home at thetigers.com.au
You can also follow the club on Twitter! @EastsTigers