By Dylan Beaumont
Pakenham Eels have dropped to fourth place on the ladder in the NRL Victoria Men’s Second Grade competition after falling painfully short of victory against Doveton Steelers on Saturday.
The Steelers were firing out of the blocks, scoring twice in the opening minutes through Daric Lautolo and Soonafai Tuifelasai to help set up their 20-18 success.
The Eels responded with tries at the nine and 14-minute mark, through David Jonassen-Hammond and Abraham Netzler.
The Eels were buoyed by their comeback and considering ladder positions would have expected to pull away from the Steelers.
But Doveton took a handy lead to the half-time interval through tries to John Tuliatu and Tuifelasai, who grounded the ball for his second of the afternoon to extend the gap between the sides.
At the 65-minute mark, a Troy Pulupaki try and Damascus Lota conversion reduced the margin to two, but the Eels were unable to hit the scoreboard again.
Pakenham has now descended to fourth position on the ladder, holding a record of 3-2 after five rounds.
The Eels will have a tough task on their hands next week, coming up against the first-seeded Eastern Raptors.
The Eels return to their home deck at Comely Banks Recreation Reserve and will fancy their chances of victory despite the painful loss on the weekend.
The Raptors will be a tough opponent however, with an average winning margin of 20 points this season.
It will be a challenge for Pakenham, who is now susceptible to falling outside the top four.
In other action, Pakenham’s under-13 boys’ side drew with the Truganina Rabbitohs 16-16.
The under 14 boys followed in the seniors footsteps, going down to the Doveton Steelers 12-46, while the under-14 girls were outclassed by the Altona Roosters 18-64.
In the winning books, the under-16 boys defeated the Frankston Raiders 18-14 and the under-18 boys defeated Altona 20-4.
In other senior games this week, Casey Warriors were stunned in a week to forget, humiliated by the Altona Roosters 62-0 at Bruce Comben Reserve.
Casey had seven changes from their starting line-up last week, who defeated Melton comprehensively 30-12.
The Roosters staged a remarkable turnaround in form against the Warriors, being 0-4 prior to their stunning upset.
North West Wolves took Pakenham’s place in the top three with a 20-10 win over Sunshine, while second-placed Melton Broncos showed their class with a commanding 42-8 thumping of Truganina Rabbitohs.
And Pakenham’s opponent this week, Eastern Raptors, put the Werribee Bears into sudden hibernation with a 56-6 smashing at Colchester Reserve.
Ratu Lomani scored three tries for the Raptors and will be a player to keep an eye on for the Eels when they roll out the red carpet for Eastern this Saturday.
NRL VICTORIA MEN’S SECOND GRADE
R5 Results: Doveton Steelers 20 def Pakenham Eels 18, Altona Roosters 62 def Casey Warriors 0, Eastern Raptors 56 def Werribee Bears 6, Melton Broncos 42 def Truganina Rabbitohs 8, Sunshine Cowboys 10 def by North West Wolves 20.
Ladder: Eastern 9, Melton 8, North West 7, Pakenham 6, Casey 6, Doveton 4, Altona 2, Truganina 0, Sunshine 0, Werribee 0.
R6 Fixture: Pakenham (4) v Eastern (1), Casey (5) v North West (3), Melton (2) v Altona (7), Werribee (10) v Truganina (8), Sunshine (9) v Doveton (6).
