Whichever way you look at it, an 82-10 scoreline is a shellacking.
But East Campbelltown Eagles coach Richard Barnes was cautious with his message after his team put the other Eagles – Belrose Eagles – to the sword at Campbelltown Sports Stadium on Sunday.
“I could see Belrose was down on a few troops, normally they are always a tough challenge,’’ Barnes said after the match.
“I was very happy with our team’s commitment, high completions – and we really muscled up in defence.
“We are sitting second at the moment, but we have a lot of work to do if we are going to defend our title,’’ said the experienced mentor.
No doubt Barnes would have had one eye on a much bigger challenge when the Eagles host fifth placed Ryde Eastwood Hawks this coming Sunday, July 14, in round 17 of the premiership.
Against Belrose it was one way traffic for most of the match.
East Campbelltown Eagles, who wore special jumpers to showcase their proud Indigenous relationship as part of NAIDOC Week, only faltered once – the start of the second stanza.
The Campbelltown boys ran riot from the opening whistle, with tries to Vince Ripepi, Sean Connor, Grant Lahey and Mason Talolua.
With Sean Connor kicking five from six, the team went to the break leading 34-6.
A little lapse in defence after the resumption allowed Belrose to cross the line and reduce the margin to 34-10.
But that was it as Campbelltown again went on the rampage, running in tries to Shannon Gallant, pictured below right, Alex Potifara, Craig Moustakas, Jayke Lealuga-Puhotau, Aaron Teariki, Grant Lahey and Vince Ripepi – the last two bagging hat tricks.
Sean Connor was amazing with the boot, kicking a total of 13/14 for the day to help the Eagles post a huge 82-10 scoreline.
Best for the Eagles were Shannon Gallant Alex Potifara, and Mason Talolua, while Grant Lahey received the players player award and Vince Ripepi named man of the match.
