Eastern dances past Harlequin

By Marc McGowan
EASTERN Suburbs’ high-octane offence scorched another opponent on Saturday as it romped to a 47-21 triumph over the Harlequin Souths at Riviera Park in Seaford.
However, for the second week running, the final result was not indicative of the battle Eastern found itself in during the Rugby Union Victoria Pillar Cup contest.
Souths enjoyed an 11-5 edge at half-time, with their tactic of slowing down the tempo at every opportunity working well.
Eastern, on the other hand, was below its best and found itself behind for the first time in several weeks.
But the local side has shown a penchant for finding ways to defeat its opposition, and this was no different.
After the break, rather than trying to evade Harlequin, Eastern chose to use brute strength and Souths soon began to feel the effects.
With its third-placed rival becoming increasingly tired, Eastern ran in try after try to steam away with the victory.
Vice-captain Clinton Haimona and Sami Taufa led from the front with two tries each, while Nick Scott, Andrew Thompson and Issac Haimona were others to impress.
Eastern coach Stephen Tia praised his troops’ work ethic and ability to fight back from adversity for their fourth win in succession.
“It was another hard-fought win – the boys like doing that,” he said. “You’d have to be a sick man to be unhappy with how we’re going at the moment.”
The stage is now set for the top-of-the-ladder showdown with Westgate Power, where the winner will claim first spot and premiership favouritism before the finals.
The Power sits a game ahead of Eastern, but it is the latter that will enter the final-round clash in better form.
“They’re a good side and they haven’t become top of the ladder for nothing,” Tia said. “We’re very excited about next week.”
Tia said he had thought about winning the premiership, but there was much work still to do.
“It is not on my mantelpiece yet, but we’ll have a bloody good shot at it,” he said.
The much-anticipated contest between Eastern and Westgate will take place at Holmesglen Reserve on Saturday at 7pm.