Preparations for the upcoming season are building nicely for the Pakenham Rugby League Club with the Eels hosting the NRL Victoria Storm Pre-Season Challenge Cup and trial matches on the weekend.
Clubs from right across the Eastern conference descended on Eels headquarters at Comely Banks Reserve in Officer to compete in a round-robin competition.
The Eels senior men’s team won its opening game 38-0 against the Frankston Raiders, but found life more difficult in its second outing, losing 24-8 to Waverley Panthers.
The Eels now move to the next weekend of competititon where they will face teams from the Western conference
Trial matches were also held for the under-18 team and the under-16 squad against the Sunbury Tigers.
The under-16 team took to the field for the first time in 2023, and came out a little rusty facing a 16-0 deficit at half time.
But the rust soon disappeared, with the Eels a well-oiled machine in the second half, scoring 14 unanswered points.
The Eels just ran out of time, going down 16-14. The under-18 unit had a massive day out on the park; having missed out in 2022 they came out hungry for points, putting on a massive total of 128 points, winning 128-20.
