Eastern bites Redbacks for return win

By Marc McGowan
EASTERN Suburbs ended its three-game Pillar Cup slide with an enthralling 29-25 triumph over the Kingston Redbacks at Frog Hollow Reserve on Friday night.
It was Eastern’s second success over the Redbacks this year after also beating them in round one.
The return bout was anything but straightforward, however, with the teams trading periods of control before Eastern stormed home with the game’s final three tries to steal an unlikely victory.
The home side jumped out of the blocks quickly to cross for the match’s first two tries.
The second was one for the highlight reel, with Eastern star Michael Breen’s penalty kick attempt hitting the cross bar before falling into the waiting hands of Mark Hill, who gleefully ran in the score.
But Kingston wrested control from Eastern and went on a scoring rampage.
The Redbacks rattled off the next four tries and added a penalty goal – split over the two halves – to break out to a 25-12 advantage.
It had Eastern coach Stephen Tia and fellow mentor Archie Kennedy in deep discussion, but cool heads prevailed and the introduction of impact players Presley Naea and David Tuinauvai proved pivotal.
Endeavour Hills maestro Tim Finau orchestrated the comeback with a stunning try, which Breen converted, and then Naea sliced the margin further by crossing for one of his own.
Time may have been ticking away, but Eastern had become an irrepressible force and Breen joined the try-scoring romp by sidestepping before cutting inside several opponents to give his club the lead for good.
In a tense final few minutes, neither squad could add to its scoreline as Eastern ran out a deserving winner.
Tia was proud of his players and pleased to see them move into third place with an even win-loss ledger after six rounds.
“I am really rapt for the boys for them to come from behind and they’ve made my (hair) go even less than what I’ve got now!” he joked.
“When things aren’t going your way you think the whole world is against you, but once everyone – including the coaches – started thinking clearly and thought about what we could do, we managed to get back on top.”
Eastern takes on the fourth-ranked North West University Lions at Eltham Rugby Club off Bridge Street, Eltham, on Saturday at 3.15pm.