Est. 2007

Fairfax Eagles Rugby League Club

Round 6 Match Report - 7.19.2008

 

Fairfax Eagles 0 - 88 Aston DSC Bulls

The Eagles came up against a red-hot Bulls team on Saturday who simply had to much experience and power for the first-year club.  Featuring a number of current, former, and no doubt future international players, the Bulls scored at will on Saturday to consolidate their place at the top of the AMNRL standings. 

 

The game actually started well for the Eagles, with Naysan Eshraghi’s deep opening kick knocked-on by the Bulls 5 meters out.  Some tough defense by the Bulls on their own goal line denied the Eagles, but Jeff Bush’s perfectly flighted kick on the last tackle forced the Bulls’ winger to take the ball a meter or so from the goal line.  He was immediately driven back into his own goal area by the Eagles to force a goal line drop out.  The resulting kick bounced dangerously in Eagles territory, before being collected by John Young who looked to return it with interest.  Unfortunately, the ball was stripped by Bulls centre Ric Dortone who ran the ball in untouched from the halfway line.  The conversion was missed. 

 

The Eagles again put pressure on the Bulls from the kick-off, with Eshraghi’s kick bouncing in play and rolling out the back of the try zone between two Bulls forwards.  This time the drop out was taken by Eagles forward Christian Seaman, who ran the ball back 10 meters before being met by an aggressive Bulls line.  The Eagles ran a couple of forward plays before knocking-on and gifting possession back to the Bulls.  The men from Aston kept the ball in the forwards for the first three tackles, before swinging it out to the backs on the fourth.  Ill discipline in defense almost cost the Eagles, as the Bulls winger found a hole and ran 30 meters to the try line.  Some last-gasp defense by Eshraghi caused the winger to knock-on inches from the try line, and the Eagles survived. 

 

The teams then traded possession, with sloppy play from both sides resulting in a 10 minute period of dropped passes, knock-ons, and missed tackles.  Eventually these mistakes proved costly for the Eagles, as they had in the Round 2 match-up on June 14, with the Bulls wasting no time in capitalizing on an Eagles knock-on from a scrum on the halfway line.  A break from the lock at the back of the Bulls scrum took the ball to within a few meters of the Eagles line.  A quick play-the-ball followed, and the Eagles were unable to stop the Aston men from powering over for their second of the afternoon.  The conversion was made and the Eagles were down by ten. 

 

From the resulting kick-off, the Bulls made 20 meters on a charging run.  Two plays and several missed tackles later, the Bulls again sent a runner though untouched from 50 meters.  The kick was made and the Eagles trailed by 16. 

 

Again, the Eagles had success pinning the Bulls deep from the resulting kick-off.  Eshraghi’s boomer was knocked backwards and out of play, resulting in yet another goal line drop-out.  This time the short kick was handled by Jason Mayhugh, who ran it back a good 5 meters before hitting the Bulls line.  Again though, poor ball retention hurt the Eagles as the ball was knocked-on on the second tackle.  Some quick passing by the Bulls again opened up the Eagles, and they went 60 meters on four tackles to make it 20-0.  The kick was made, and the Eagles hole continued to deepen. 

 

The second quarter started sloppily, with each team gifting possession to the other through knock-ons, errant passes, and poor ball handling.  Again though, it was the Eagles who made the critical mistake, from their own scrum, knocking the ball on 10 meters out from their line to set-up the Bulls fifth score of the day.  The kick was missed and the Eagles trailed by 26.

 

The Eagles then stepped their play up, and managed to enjoy some possession in the Bulls half of the field.  A good set resulted in another good kick by Bush to pin the Bulls deep.  Unfortunately however, the Eagles strong defense could not be maintained late into the tackle count, and the Bulls found a hole and ran in another 50 meter breakaway try.  The kick was missed and the Eagles deficit was now 30. 

 

Following the kick-off and several subsequent plays, the Eagles were given another attacking opportunity in their opponents half, with Bulls forward Chris Craig knocking-on on the third tackle.  Again though, the Eagles managed to knock the ball on from their own scrum.  Fortunately for the Eagles, the resulting Bulls try was called back by the referee for a penalty.  However, the reprieve was short lived as the Eagles failed to find touch with the kick and the Bulls went 80 meters in four plays to make the score 34-0.  The conversion was made and the score line was starting to look insurmountable for the Fairfax men. 

 

In almost a carbon copy of the last kick-off, the Bulls again knocked-on early in the tackle count deep in their own half, and again the Eagles managed to give it right back to them following a knock-on on the second tackle after the resulting scrum.  Once again, the Bulls were full of running and after one or two quick passes they were in again from 50 meters to take their tally on the day to 40.  The conversion was made. 

 

No advantage went to the Eagles on the next restart, with the Bulls returning the kick the length of the field to make it 46-0.  Some slack defense by the Eagles, in addition to great support running by the Bulls, made for the easy score right before the half.  The conversion was made to make the score 48-0 at the break. 

 

Despite rousing half-time team talks from President Steve Grant and Club Captain Mike Zelinski, the second half did not start well for the Eagles.  The Bulls kick-off was well fielded by Andrew Reddy, who made 20 meters on a mazy run out of his own try zone.  Poor ball retention again hurt the Eagles though, as the ball was knocked-on by Jason Mayhugh on the next play, 15 meters from the Eagles line.

 

The Eagles defense held firm on the next attacking set from the Bulls, and managed to force a turnover courtesy of a Bulls knock-on during a solid tackle from Min Sae Chae and Naysan Eshraghi.  Once again though, the Eagles could not retain possession for long, and the ball was knocked-on on the third tackle, 10 meters out from the Eagles line.  Again the Eagles defense held, with the Bulls knocking-on inches out.  From the resulting scrum, predictably, the Eagles knocked-on and the Bulls ran in their tenth try of the afternoon.  Following the resulting conversion, the Bulls now had a commanding 54 point lead. 

 

The Bulls almost had another score on their next possession.  Some powerful running through the forwards in the first three tackles was followed by some swift backline play on the fourth to open up the Eagles defense out wide.  Eshraghi again came to the rescue of the Eagles with a last gasp tackle on the goal line, forcing another Bulls knock-on.  The Eagles managed to maintain possession through four tackles on their next set, before coughing-up the ball 10 meters out on an errant pass.  Once again, a Bulls player was on hand to collect the loose ball and run in the easy score.  The conversion was made and the Eagles trailed by 60. 

 

The following kick-off was spectacularly taken by Bulls full back Lois Tulio, who somehow managed to secure the ball whilst sliding full speed along the ground.  Unfortunately for him, his offload was dropped by the on-rushing Bulls forward and the Eagles earned a scrum 20 meters out from the Bulls line.  Inevitably the ball was dropped by the Eagles on the third tackle, and the Bulls went on the offensive.  A much improved effort by the Eagles defense followed, as the men from Fairfax held the Bulls in check and created a turnover through forcing the Bulls winger out of bounds whilst in possession of the ball.  A sloppy period of play followed, where possession changed frequently over the next few minutes with both teams knocking-on and giving away penalties.  Then came the Eagles best possession of the afternoon.  From a penalty on the Eagles 40 meter line, Christian Seaman crashed into the Bulls line, dragging three defenders with him.  Then Jon ‘Tuck’ Chernaga took a hit-up right into the heart of the Bulls defense.  On the third tackle the Eagles went for it out wide, and quick passes from James Lewis to Jeff Bush to John O’Donnell caught the Bulls unaware.  With a man overlap, the Eagles looked sure to grab their first points of the day.  However, with the try line in sight, winger Henry Nowell couldn’t secure the pass from O’Donnell and the chance was lost.  A well executed move from the Eagles that deserved more.

 

From the resulting scrum, the Eagles created a turnover at midfield, forcing a knock-on in the tackle.  After recovering the ball, the Eagles elected to kick on the first tackle, pinning the Bulls deep in their own half.  However, the heat was starting to take its toll on the Eagles defense and the Bulls quickly found a hole to exploit, scoring an untouched 40 meter try early in the tackle count.  Following the conversion, the Eagles found themselves trailing by 66 points.

 

Some sloppy play from the Bulls on their next possession gifted the ball back to the Eagles on their own 20.  A couple of solid runs by Eagles forwards were followed by a 20-meter break from dummy half from Eshraghi, who also earned the Eagles a penalty following a high tackle.  Three more tackles, and the Eagles were up to half way, where Eshraghi earned another penalty courtesy of being held too long in the tackle.  Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t find touch from the penalty, the Bulls went on offense, and three tackles later the score was 70-0.  The conversion was made from right in front of the posts.

 

If there was a consistent bright spot for the Eagles on Saturday it was the success they had at kick-offs.  Once again the restart sailed over the heads of two Bulls players, bounced, and rolled out the back of the try zone.  This was the fourth time the Eagles had recovered the ball straight from the kick-off.  The short drop out kick was fielded at the 20 by Eagles center Tim Bucher, who ran it back 5 meters before meeting the Bulls line.  Once again the Eagles had excellent field position, but once again through poor ball retention they gave it right back to the Bulls on the second tackle.  Following the scum, the Bulls found a hole wide in the Eagles line and ran in a 60 meter try, increasing their lead to 76.  The kick was made. 

 

Following the kick-off, the Bulls ran three or four plays before knocking-on and handing possession over to the Eagles.  The Fairfax men, through simple plays and improved ball handling, and aided by a couple of Bulls penalties, advanced he ball to within 5 meters of the Bulls line.  Although the Eagles couldn’t penetrate the solid Bulls line, they did put in a complete set.  Unfortunately for the Eagles, the grubber kick on the last tackle rolled through the back of the in-goal area untouched and the Fairfax men once again came away from the Bulls line pointless. 

 

From the tap, the Bulls marched 75 meters on four tackles and were foiled only by another last gasp effort from Eshraghi, who forced the Bulls winger out of bounds deep in the Eagles half.  Typical of the day however, the Eagles knocked-on shortly after the scrum, and the Bulls ran in another easy score from a few meters out to make it 82-0.  The kick was missed. 

 

With time running out and the Eagles defense wilting, the Bulls ran in another long range effort in the last minute to make the final score 88-0. 

 

Overall, the Eagles were soundly beaten on the day by a veteran side that exploited all the attacking opportunities afforded to them.  The Eagles can take a lot of heart from this performance though.  Not once did they quit, despite the mounting score line.  The forwards ran and tackled well against a well drilled and more organized outfit, and the backs ran hard all day.  The decision to rest a number of starters for this one no doubt hurt the Eagles, but hopefully the long-term gain of providing playing time to some of the lesser experienced players will pay off.  The team will need to focus on basic handling and ball retention in the coming weeks if it harbors aspirations of making the playoffs.  The Bulls deserved the win today, but the Eagles did not help their cause in any way by continually gifting the ball to the opposition deep in their own half.  If the Eagles can rid themselves of the mistakes that have plagued them since early in the season, the wins will start coming.  The Eagles did enjoy some decent periods of possession in this game and actually managed to create several good scoring chances.  However, poor ball handling and decision making seemed to let them down at the critical moment.  The clear difference between the teams today was that the Bulls fully exploited all the Eagles mistakes, more often than not turning each error into 6 points.  The Eagles however found it difficult to capitalize on the numerous opportunities afforded to them by the Bulls, especially on kick-offs and attacking scrum sets.  At the end of the day this was another valuable lesson for the young Eagles side who continue to learn and grow as a club on a weekly basis. 

 

Despite resting several starters, the Eagles travelled with 22 players on the day.  Best for the Eagles were man-of-the-match John Young who put in some stellar hits and played a solid game at wing and full back; Naysan Eshraghi who saved several more Bulls tries with some last gasp goal line tackling; and Christian Seaman who ran hard all game and gave the Bulls defense some major headaches.

 

Round 7 Preview:

 

This coming Saturday (7.26), the Eagles will travel to War at the Shore to take on the Philadelphia Fight and the DC Slayers. 

 

The Eagles will be looking to get back to winning ways against the Fight, who provided the Eagles with the first ever win on June 21.  In order to secure that illusive second victory and take a big step towards the playoffs, the Eagles will have to improve their ball handling and start taking advantage of the attacking opportunities afforded to them.  This is sure to be a close game as the Fight will be looking to get their first win of the season. 

 

The match-up against the Slayers, a make-up game from Round 4, is sure to be a hotly contested affair.  The Slayers will be keen to get over last weekend’s forfeit and get back to winning ways to solidify their playoff push.  Playing two games in one day will test the Eagles, but with a .500 record and a playoff spot still achievable for the new club they will be sure to give it there all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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