Eastwood Preview Round 16
By Paul Treanor
Are these the scores for our top order batsmen tonight in the 3rd Ashes Test – 40, 123, 77 and 56? We can only hope. No, they are the scores put up by our four grade sides last Saturday against our neighbours Parramatta. Thirds again beat technology by getting to three figures when the electronic score boards only went to 99. Keep this up and an upgrade will be needed. In First Grade, as if in revenge, the electronic score boards got ahead of the game and it took ten minutes for Eastwood to catch up.
While Grade were taking maximum points at home, Colts were finding scoring a little more difficult but still came away with two wins and a draw.
This week Grade travel to our Northern neighbours Gordon, while Colts Firsts play them at home. Seconds and Thirds both have a bye.
The Club Championship is also coming to the end as we move towards the final round. University is still out in front with a 263 points lead over Eastwood. Third placed Manly is 191 points behind us.
Grade
4th Grade – 3rd place
Fourth Grade kicked proceedings off last Saturday with a 40 – 28 win over Parramatta. They are now 13 points ahead of fourth placed Norths who take on competition Randwick this week. With University up against South’s it should be an interesting round for 4th Grade.
Last time they played Gordon it was a 52 – 0 win to Eastwood. Gordon are coming off a narrow loss to South’s in a low scoring affair and will be looking for a win to keep their slim chances of making the eight alive. On current form it is hard to see Eastwood letting that happen.
3rd Grade – 2nd place
Third Grade broke the 100 points for the second time this year and only allowed Parramatta to score one try. Gordon lost last week to South’s 28 – 33 and are sitting in 8th place just five points ahead of Norths. Also this round Norths play 3rd placed Randwick and the result of this game will be of interest to both Eastwood and Gordon.
Eastwood won 59 – 7 last time the two teams met and would appear to be too strong in both attack and defence for Gordon.
2nd Grade – 4th place
The top of the Second Grade ladder is still congested with some interesting clashes in coming weeks that could see a rearranging of the deck chairs come finals time. Eastwood came back home last week and kept the score boards and the ground announcer busy. The final score was Eastwood 77 Parramatta 17.
Gordon had a four point win over South’s last week and are sitting in sixth place on the ladder. Two weeks ago they lost to Parramatta by two points. When the teams met at Millner back in May it was a very close affair with a narrow three point win to Eastwood. On recent form Eastwood will go in favourites but you can again expect it to be a close game at Chatswood Oval as a win is important to both sides.
1st Grade -1st place
By the time the First Grades sides came out to play the ground announcer had warmed to the task and had had plenty of practice under his belt. And the Firsts didn’t disappoint with a total of 11 tries on the board when the final whistle sounded. The final score was 56 – 20 and again Eastwood showed their adaptability to play the game in front of them. With University continuing to clock up bonus points wins the race for the Minor Premiership is still a close one. This round we see a replay of last year’s Grand Final when second placed University take on third placed South’s with both teams missing players who are on the tour to Argentina. A win by South’s will take some pressure off Eastwood.
While the Grand Final replay is going on Eastwood will be playing Gordon who are not having the best of years. Last week they went down to South’s 28- 66 and find themselves running second last. Back in May Eastwood stormed home to take the points 49- 22. Gordon have only won three games this year. Despite one of those being a recent upset against Norths it is hard to see them stand up to the power and might of the rampaging Eastwood XV.
Colts
Thirds – 2nd Place
As we said last week Round 15 was an interesting one for Colts Thirds. With the two byes and results from the round, including Eastwood’s 22 all draw with Parramatta see them moving up the ladder to second place – just one point ahead of Norths and East’s This week they get a bye and equal third placed Norths have a “free hit” to pass them if they can beat Randwick, as could the other third placed side, East’s, who play Parramatta. Next week Competition Leaders (University) get a bye, while Eastwood take on East’s. The results over these two rounds will determine final places.
Seconds – 2nd Place
Seconds added another notch to their belt beating Parramatta 28- 19. They also have a bye this week and must sit back and watch their rivals take to the park and try and improve their positions. Their closest threat is Norths who are 8 points behind Eastwood. University have the bye in the last round. Again the results in the final round will determine where Eastwood finishes on the ladder.
Firsts – 7th Place
Firsts moved up one place on the ladder with a fine win over Parramatta 32- 26. Breaking a three game losing streak the win couldn’t have come at a better time. With Gordon losing 14- 53 to South’s some pressure has been lifted but Eastwood will need to make it two from two this Saturday at Millner. The middle of the table is tight and if they keep winning and other results go their way Firsts could find themselves finishing 5th come Saturday week. Last time they played Gordon they won 31- 20. Gordon will be fighting to keep their season alive so Eastwood will need to bring last week’s form to the game and cement their place in the top eight.
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