Sin-binning costs Hills

By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills Rugby Union Club was given a lesson in playing the full 80 minutes after a disastrous second half resulted in a 57-13 thrashing at the hands of Moorabbin at Frog Hollow Reserve on Saturday.
The round two Premier One contest was on an even keel at half-time, with Endeavour Hills in front 6-5 thanks to two penalty goals from full-back Timothy Finau.
Moorabbin scored the only try in the 20th minute in an extremely physical opening.
The beginning of the end came when Endeavour Hills was penalised for repeat offences at the ruck and maul that left it one player down for the final seven minutes of the first half and three minutes into the second.
Almost instantaneously when the “binned” player returned to the field, another Endeavour Hills player replaced him to leave the home side in a perilous position.
The physical toll eventually told for Endeavour Hills as Moorabbin began spreading the ball wider on the field to expose the former’s lack of speed and rapidly tiring legs.
By the end of the game, Moorabbin had racked up an astounding eight tries and 52 points in the second 40-minute block, while Endeavour Hills was only able to add a single David Sega try, which was converted by Finau.
The match was a real eye-opener for Endeavour Hills coach Mark Thompson, but he was impressed with his side’s start.
“It was very enjoyable to watch that first half. It was very physical and both teams gave no quarter,” he said.
“You had to work hard to get your points on the board and we went into the first half 6-5 up and then they came back really strong in the second half.”
Thompson has reacted to the loss by implementing more professionalism at training.
“Last night (Tuesday), I changed our whole system. Everything was done intensely, so we will be challenging their lung capacity,” he said.
“Surely by the third or fourth game from now, we’ll start hitting our straps.
“Last year, we’d just train and jog around, but we had a real awakening on Saturday, and Boroondara (in round one) and Moorabbin have given us a real insight into what Premier One is really like.”
Endeavour Hills plays away to Northern on Saturday in a winnable encounter after the latter was thumped 45-5 by Melbourne last weekend following a round one victory.