Eastwood outclasses young Highlanders outfit
By Ben Harrison
Gordon’s young guns have faced their toughest challenge yet, going down 70-12 to competition heavyweight Eastwood at Chatswood Oval.
The Woodies’ 10-try tally was more than enough to secure the bonus-point win that has elevated them to third on the Magners Shute Shield ladder after two rounds and captain Hugh Perrett was full of praise for the work of the coaching staff in setting them up their big win.
“Structurally we were good from the start,” said Perrett afterwards. “We knew Gordon would come out with all they had in the first quarter of the match and we just needed to weather that. We trusted our system and we got the points because of it in the end.”
Finishing the match with two tries of his own, Perrett was a standout and a constant menace at the breakdown. “I found myself in space a few times which was good but the lead up work from our tight five really helped with that,” he finished.
It was a tough day at the office for Gordon head coach Geoff Townsend. But despite being out-classed, Townsend was able to take a number of positives from the game. “We started to get some shape towards the end, once our passes started to stick,” he said. “We are a rebuilding and are a young side coming up against one of the best teams in the comp, so I am proud of the boys for sticking to it till the end.”
After taking a considerable 34-0 lead into the break, the second half saw the Woodies pick up where they left off, scoring five tries to Gordon’s two. Pierre Hola was exceptional with the boot, kicking eight goals from 11 attempts, while the Highlanders’ Mitch Greenway was tough throughout, scoring a runaway try after returning to the field following an earlier visit the blood bin to add to his team’s other five pointer from Sione Ala.
It was not all rosy for the Woodies though, who lost Kyle Shewan after the young back rower was stretchered off and taken straight to hospital with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
Eastwood will now look to carry their good form to Penrith next weekend, when they take on the Emus, while bottom-placed Gordon will look to bounce back with a home clash against a rampaging Randwick side that has so far notched up two wins in as many outings.
Eastwood 70 (John Grant 2, Hugh Perrett 2, Nick Batger 2, Mick Snowden, Jared Barry, Ben Batger, Blake Sutton tries; Pierre Hola 7 cons, 2 pens) d Gordon 12 (Sione Ala, Mitch Greenway tries, Henry Carmichael con) at Chatswood Oval.
In other games, the Warringah Rats were too strong for Southern Districts, defeating the Rebels on their home turf to rise to second on the overall ladder.
Warringah 36 (Luke Holmes, Wayne Borsak, Sireli Tagicakibau, David Feltscheer tries; Hamish Angus 2 cons, 4 pens) d Southern Districts 18 (Jed Holloway, Ben Volavola tries; Rohan Saifoloi con, 2 pens) at Forshaw Rugby Park.
Randwick continued to show why they are a force to be reckoned with this year, putting in a solid performance against a spirited Northern Suburbs side.
Randwick 29 (Mark Baldwin, Sam Figg, Tim Donlan tries; David Horwitz con, pen, Liam Windon 3 pens) d Northern Suburbs 25 (Will Weeks, Will Miller, Jac Cameron tries; Jack Grant 2 cons, 2 pens) at Coogee Oval.
In a closer game then many predicted, Woollahra Oval saw Sydney University take the win over Eastern Suburbs, whose solitary points came from the boot of Henry Hudson.
Sydney University 22 (Tom Boidin, Hugo Dessens, Jake Gordon tries; Hodge con, pen, Macklin con) d Eastern Suburbs 3 (Henry Hudson pen) at Woollahra Oval.
Turning around their lost last weekend, West Harbour dominated the battle of the west with a strong performance against Penrith that saw them run in an impressive eight tries to Penrith’s three.
West Harbour 57 (Tito Mua 2, Usaia O’Sullivan, David Lolohea, Harrison Orr, Paula Kainga, Henry Seavala, Kerren Straker; Dave Harvey 7 cons, pen) d Penrith 19 (Senio Tolefoa 2, John Waititi tries; Robbie Mate 2 cons) at Concord Oval.
Following another bonus point win, Manly now tops the table after two rounds. The Marlins ran in nine tries, including a hat-trick from fullback Shaun Treweek, in their 58-22 win over the Two Blues, who notched up three five-pointers at Merrylands RSL.
Manly 58 (Shaun Treweek 3, Marshall Milroy 2, Harry Bergelin 2, Richard Hooper, Dane Chisolm tries; Treweek 4 cons, pen; Chisolm con) d Parramatta 22 (Simon Lemalu, Tui Fa’asisila, Larry Hermans tries; Tom Woods 2 cons, pen) at Merrylands RSL.
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