By Marc McGowan
ENDEAVOUR Hills produced a much-improved performance, but still fell to its eighth consecutive Rugby Union Victoria Premier One defeat on Saturday.
The latest loss was a 48-19 result at the hands of Boroondara at John Gardiner Reserve in Hawthorn.
The better effort came as no real surprise because the club suited up 18 players, which was much higher than previous weeks, when it had struggled for numbers.
One notable absentee was coach Mark Thompson, who missed the contest due to a family emergency.
Endeavour Hills secretary David Hawkins took over the coaching reins and oversaw a competitive first half from his side.
Boroondara leapt out to a 17-0 buffer, but tries to Tapu Ioane and Tim Finau – who also scored for Eastern Suburbs the night before – and successful conversions from Seyla Khat made it 17-14.
Another Boroondara score on the brink of half-time took the score to 22-14.
John Sione managed to cross for Endeavour Hills when play resumed, but his score was buried under a barrage of Boroondara attacks, which blew the difference right out in the last 15 minutes.
Hawkins commended his squad’s improved output, but said the right team won on the day.
“It came down to fitness really … and they were better organised as well,” he said.
“I spoke to Mark (Thompson) after the game and ran him through what happened and he was rapt with the way the guys played.
“They played with a lot of spirit and there were no real stand-outs – everyone contributed and played hard.”
Endeavour Hills returns to Frog Hollow Reserve at 3.15pm on Saturday to play ninth-placed Northern.
