East Campbelltown Eagles coach Richard Barnes will be asking his players to stay focused for 80 minutes after a lucky escape on the weekend.
The 2016 Sydney Shield premiers had to knuckle down and grimly hold on for a two point win over Cabramatta Two Blues on Saturday.
Barnes wasn’t unhappy with the effort from his boys, just the drop in intensity which let the home side back in the game both in the first and second half.
“We played good in stages, but our own mistakes let the Cabramatta side back into the game,’’ Barnes said after the round nine clash at New Era Stadium, Cabramatta.
“It was a tough game and we are very happy to get the two points,’’ Barnes said.
The Eagles opened the scoring when Grant Lahey crossed in the opening minute of the game.
Just five minutes later it looked like a rout was on the cards when Giovanno Vatuvei planted the ball in the corner to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.
But the home side hit back at the 10th minute to reduce the margin to 10-4.
However the Eagles continued to dominate play, with the Cabramatta pack struggling to cope with the speed of the game from the visitors.
Adam Soultan was next to score for the Eagles and when Craig Moustakas crossed in the 27th minute, the Eagles raced to a 20-4 lead.
Unfortunately mistakes crept into the Eagles game, which allowed Cabramatta to snatch momentum heading into half time.
The home side scored two tries and when Ben Baker kicked a penalty goal right on half time the players went to the break with the Eagles leading by just six points at 22-16.
The first 15 minutes of the second half was an arm wrestle punctuated by some big hits from both sides.
Cabramatta were the first to score to level the scores at 22-22.
Coach Barnes would have been happy to see his Eagles respond in style, running in three tries in eight minutes to regain the lead.
John Da Silva, Ben Baker and Grant Lahey scored four pointers to give the Eagles a commanding 36-22 lead with just 12 minutes left before the final hooter.
But the home side hadn’t given up and raced in two quick tries to bring the score back to 36-34 with two minutes remaining.
The Eagles managed to hold on to walk away with the two premiership points.
Best for the Eagles where Adam Soultan, John Da Silva, Ben Baker, with the players player award going to Grant Lahey and the man of the match honour to Wayde Dunley.
RESULTS:
First grade – East Campbelltown 16 Bankstown Bulls 22
Reserve Grade – East Campbelltown 10 Five Dock 42
Under 19s division 1 – East Campbelltown 26, Bass Hill 4
