| News | Gallery | Ladder | Fixtures | Heroes | History | Archive | Contact | Sponsors | Links |
Brave Reserves Thumped by Roosters
Eden 0 Bega 50
July 3rd 2011 by Dave Evelyn
The Eden Reserve Grade side were a very depleted side when they took the field against the strong Bega side last Saturday in Bega. Many players are missing from our senior ranks and this really tested the depth of the side. A few under 18 players backed up but Eden was still short on the bench when the game started and things didn't get any better from there.
Bega absolutely dominated the first stage of the game with Eden not getting into the Bega half for nearly all the first half. Defensive heroics from Andrew Grant, Matt and Andrew Evelyn, Ben Holding and Dylan Wheeler in particular kept Eden in the game for a while, but weight of numbers, possession and field position eventually took its toll on the brave Tigers. By half time the Bega side had established a 28-0 lead. Bega had 18 possessions to Eden's 9, and Eden only completed 4 of those 9, a damning statistic that emphasised Bega's dominance.
Coach Kevin Campbell was full of praise for his charges and urged them to continue to play with pride and commitment even if outgunned on the field. This they did, making every Eden supporter present justifiably proud of their efforts.
The second half saw the Eden side working really hard in defence, but they were outgunned. An adverse penalty count didn't help their plight, but they kept getting up and tackling . Bega ran in four more tries in the second half to eventually take the match 50-0.
Congratulations to all the Eden players on a gutsy admirable effort. If we can get some players to training and turning up for games we will turn this season around and are still a realistic Premiership chance. Next week we will be playing premiership front runners Cobargo at home