Easts Tigers Talk - Round 22

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In the final game of 2010, the Easts Tigers went down 36-26 to the Tweed Head Seagulls in a closely fought tussle at Cudgen Oval. 

It was a performance that typified the club's season - the Tigers failed to fully capitalise on their opportunities and were left to rue some sloppy defence at crucial stages.

The match was also fiery, with three players sent to the sin-bin on two separate occasions. Tweed Heads captain Brad Davis spent time on the sidelines after back chat directed at the referee, while enigmatic fullback Shannon Walker and Tigers hooker Dane Phillips were also given ten after their involvement in a brawl which spilled over the sideline.

Tweed Heads skipped out to an early 12-0 lead thanks to tries to both centres, Josh Graham and James Wood, but the ever-dangerous Liam Campbell got the Tigers on the board in the 18th minute.

Tigers' Leon Panapa provided some impact late in the first half, the interchange forward made an arching run to the line for Easts second four-pointer. He had the chance for a double but in heartbreaking fashion dropped the ball over the line.

The Seagulls made the Tigers pay when Walker supported a break to give his side a 24-8 advantage at the break.

Easts came out firing in the second stanza, reliable winger Kev Stephensen pounced on a loose ball in the ingoal before a stunning try to Issac Kaufmann, off a Campbell break and chip kick, gave the few Tigers supporters some hope at 24-20.

However, some poor defence on the final tackle allowed Walker to run the ball and grab his second try. Davis' perfect day with the boot continued, to give Tweed a 30-20 lead in the 67th minute.

The home team then snuffed out any comeback chance when Kingi Akauola strolled through. Easts did post a further try through Panapa but it proved too little too late.

Tweed Heads Seagulls 36
Tries: Shannon Walker 2, James Wood, Josh Graham, Steve Gillett, Kingi Akauola
Goals: Brad Davis 6
defeated
Easts Tigers 26
Tries: Leon Panapa 2, Liam Campbell, Kev Stephensen, Isaac Kaufmann
Goals: Paoa Faamita 2, Jace Van Dijk

The teams:

Tweed Heads Seagulls
1. Shannon Walker 2. Cameron White 3. James Wood 4. Josh Graham 5. Dominique Peyroux 6. Ryan Milligan 7. Brad Davis 8. S Darby 9. D Kerr 10. Selasi Berdie 11. Aaron Zimmerle 12. M O'Reilly 13. Ryan Simpkins
Interchange: 14. Jake Leary 15. S Gillett 16. Kingi Akauola 17. S Carney
Coach: Ben Anderson

Easts Tigers
1. Liam Campbell 2. Matthew Ruthenberg 3. Dean Sheppard 4. Paoa Faamita 5. Kev Stephensen 6. Isaac Kaufmann 7. Jace Van Dijk (c) 8. Cameron Durnford 9. Dane Phillips 10. James Stosic 11. Steven Thorpe 12. Brent Williams 13. Daniel Fullarton
Interchange: 14. Fabian Soutar 15. Dywayne Rigby 16. Leon Panapa 17. Brett Farrell
Coach: Jason Gainey

FOGS A Grade

In the A Grade fixture, the Tigers put the Seagulls to the sword with a 56-18 thrashing.

Easts started with a flurry of points, racing to 26-0 after just 25 minutes. A Steven West intercept was the highlight, with the diminutive halfback sprinting 80 metres before Lance Morris dived through some poor fringe defence on the next play.

Tweed, who remain victory-less at FOGS level in 2010, grabbed two tries in the second half to reduce the deficit to 36-18 but the Tigers clicked into gear once again in the latter stages. Scott Ireland crossed for his hattrick thanks to a West chip kick - the speedy fullback could have had four if not for a generous offload to a fellow Easts player in the opposition ingoal.

Despite being entrenched in the top five for the majority of the year, the Tigers finished a tantalising two points outside finals footy and will be left to ponder five straight losses at the back-end of the season.

Tweed Heads Seagulls 18 (Greg O Reilly, Johnson Porykali, Aaron Zimmerle tries; Steve Harding 3 goals) defeated by Easts Tigers 56 (Scott Ireland 3, Lance Morris 2, Lachlan Tanzer, Hunter Asanuma, Cody Fullarton, Kerryn Blake, Reece Purcell, Steven Tyrrell tries; Steven West 3, Luke Archer 2, Fili Sofa goals)
FOGS Colts Challenge

The Tigers Colts suffered a heavy 46-18 defeat against the competition front running Seagulls.

Despite the loss, a third place finish means the Colts are the sole Tigers outfit to qualify for the finals. They now take on Wynnum Manly in an elimination final next Saturday.

Easts went into the game without the talented Broncos Under 20 representatives Max Dudley, Waita Setu and Mboya Adams. However, regardless of the players on the field, nothing went right for Easts in the first half. They barely touched the ball and were simply blown off the park by a rampaging Tweed - the home side crossed for an amazing seven tries to hold a 38-0 lead at the break.

The second half was a more even affair, with centre Daniel Wallace sneaking over in the early stages. The Tigers restricted the opposition to just two further tries, while scoring another two four-pointers themselves.

Tweed Heads Seagulls 46 (Matt Hundy 2, Joel Munro 2, Ken Allison, James Toole, Sam Saville, Steve Gillett, Sam Ross tries;Joel Munro 5 goals) defeated Easts Tigers 14 (Daniel Wallace, Steven Tyrrell, Daniel Hauiti tries; Brendan Harper goal)
Next Fixture: FOGS Colts Challenge Finals Week One
10:30am, Saturday 4 September
Easts Tigers (3) v Wynnum Manly (4) at Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast
For all your Easts Tigers news visit www.thetigers.com.au
All your Queensland Cup information can be found at www.qrl.com.au
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