Eden Tigers RLFC News Article

Under 18's show guts in great win

May 10th 2009-By Dave Evelyn

The Eden Tigers under 18 side took on the visiting Tathra Sea Eagles in the opening game at George Brown Oval last Sunday. The Eden side were missing a few players and fielded four players from the under16's. Tathra, in contrast, turned up with a full squad of 19 which didn't appear to have any juniors.

In an ominous beginning Eden spilled the deep kickoff and Tathra went on the attack immediately but the Tigers gave a glimpse of things to come by holding the opposition at bay.Eden coach colin Clarke had instructed his charges to try and slow the game down , kick for touch and respect possession as Eden had no reserves, and this tactic was carried out on the field with Eden completing three consecutive sets before Tathra received a penalty, completed with a good kick into the Eden ingoal, and then scored through second rower Dan Tindall to take a 4-0 lead.

From the restart Tathra spilled the kickoff and Corey Stewart scored after a trademark unstoppable burst from close to the line. Dylan Fletcher converted and Eden led 6-4.The Tigers had their tails up, and after completing another set to have Tathra trying to get the ball away from their line a dropped ball gave eden a chance to attack again and Rob geraghty sliced through to score a good try which, with the Fletcher conversion took the tigers out to a 12-4 lead..The Eden side was growing in confidence and their handling and defence was excellent. Despite consecutive penalties to Tathra, the home side scored their third try through Toby Timms to extend their total to 16, and then shortly after that a jolting tackle by Chris Challinor saw Tathra turn the ball over and Andrew Evelyn scored his first Under 18 try after a good bomb and the score had blown out to an almost unbelievable 22-4. Tathra struck back seconds before the break after a strong run and offload by big Banjo Anderson put Aiden Aitken in for a try which was converted to leave the half time score 22-10.

Coach Clarke was full of praise for the team at half time and urged them to keep playing smart committed football. All the players had given their all and the break was most welcome. The second half was always going to be tough with no bench players and Tathra having six reserves. Eden got a good start after receiving a penalty 20m out for a stripped ball, and Dylan steered the ball over to give the Tiger cubs a valuable 14 point lead.

After a fairly quiet first half hooker Matt Evelyn exploded to life in the second half and began splitting the Tathra defence almost at will and continually turning the defence around. John Hunt ,Luke Brown and big Corey Stewart were inspirational in attack and defence, and tyrone Thomas was spurring his team mates on from fullback.Brad Johnston and Chris Challinor were also having very strong games and it looks very likely that Brad is destined to become a huge crowd favourite in years to come with his kamikaze style running and tackling that the Tathra boys were having difficulty handling.

The Eden side were really struggling but continued to display pure guts and determination, but when Tathra scored after consecutive penalties and the score moved to 24-16 there wwere worried looks on the Eden bench. Tathra received another three penalties in succession but the Eden lads showed great courage and commitment to withstand everything Tathra could throw at them. A penalty to Eden and strong runs from several players enabled a good backline move by the Tigers , and Andrew evelyn scored his second try out wide to take Eden to a 12 point lead. With the crowd in raptures over what was a magnificent effort, the Tigers had one trick left to pull. With play on the Tathra 20 Dylan took the ball from dummy half and dummied to a rampaging Corey Stewart on a decoy run, john Hunt wrapped around the ball carrier and Dylan threw a great pass to see John blast over untouched to seal a glorious victory.

Stalwart Tigers fans and players rated this effort as one of the best in living memory by an under 18's team. Tathra have given this side some thumpings over the years and to defeat them emphatically with no reserves and four under 16 players was a stunning result.

How anyone could pick a man of the match defies contemplation, however Matt Evelyn got the three points and was narrowly given the vote as players player, with five other players tying as runner up. The whole team performed above and beyond the call of duty- they were Tyrone Thomas, Andrew Evelyn, Toby Timms, Dylan Wheeler, Mac Longford, Chris Challinor, Dylan Fletcher, Corey Stewart, Matt Evelyn, Brad Johnston, John Hunt, Robert Geraghty and Luke Brown.

Congratulation to all the boys on a memorable win.