Est. 2007

Fairfax Eagles Rugby League Club

Round 1 Match Report - 6.7.2008

 

Fairfax Eagles 14 - 40 Washington DC Slayers

An historic day for rugby league as the Fairfax Eagles took on the neighboring DC slayers with the Slayers emerging victorious in the first ever local AMNRL derby to hit Northern Virginia .

 

Ominously for the fledgling Fairfax Eagles side kick-off was delayed by some twenty minutes due to the on-field sprinklers coming on unannounced.  It was quite a sight to watch big tough men from both sides frolic around in the gushing streams of water as they shot-up from the ground right across the field at random.  Summer rugby league at it’s very best!

 

Whilst the delay allowed for the temperature to drop below 100 it certainly impeded the Eagles’ warm up and probably contributed to the nervous start by the side as they sat around impatiently waiting to get onto the field.

 

The game started badly for the Eagles with the opening kick-off going out on the full.  With a host of debutants the Eagles started nervously which allowed the Slayers to stamp their authority on the match early with some incisive running and heavy defense.  The Slayers made the most of their early possession and ran in the opening try of the match.

 

The Slayers took advantage of an unorganized and shell shocked Eagles side.  With a mountain of possession afforded to them they ran in two more scores to lead 16-0 after only 7 minutes.  

 

The signs were not good for the Eagles and one could have been forgiven for expecting a long afternoon for the debutant side.  To their credit however, the Eagles players hung in and fought to get back into the game.  The players were able to calm their nerves when winger Henry Nowell put the Eagles on the board with a sensational 40-meter try. Nowell showed some blistering speed when he pounced on a loose Slayers pass and ran away to score the first try and points in the club’s history.

 

The Eagles followed that up with some good offensive play and solid defense and actually looked the better side in patches. Some quality field position allowed the Eagles to put some pressure on the Slayers goal line defense with the Eagles taking full advantage by running in two more tries courtesy of Sean Millar and Michael Zelinsky to bring it to 16-14 at the half.  

 

The second half started as badly as the first for the Eagles, as the kick-off was knocked-on 10 meters out from the Eagles line.  The Slayers powered over for the opening score of the second half.  Another Slayers try followed, with the inexperienced Eagles then losing a player to the sin bin for 10 minutes for dissent. There was no love lost in this match with the game threatening to boil over at several stages between the rival AMNRL sides.

 

The Slayers took full advantage of the depleted Eagles team and ran in two more tries to blow out the final score.  The Eagles players can hold their heads high and will no doubt improve for the return away clash against the Slayers in three weeks time.  The Eagles simply need to work on applying things learned at practice on the playing field.  The potential of the side was shown in that they had the character to fight back despite being down 16 points in only 7 minutes.

 

The Slayers deserve credit for taking advantage of the opportunities afforded to them whilst being tactically superior on the day, and were an entertaining side full of enterprise and powerful running.

 

Overall, a solid start by the Eagles who despite the inevitable rookie mistakes proved formidable opponents to their more experienced rivals.  The club has unearthed some potential rugby league stars and as a club have the ability to learn from this loss and turn in a solid 2008 campaign.  The weight of possession and penalty count proved an insurmountable hurdle for the Eagles on the day and they must look to improve their completion rates and on field discipline if they hope to be competitive in 2008.

 

MVP for the Eagles was Joey Tropea, with special mention to Henry Nowell for notching the first ever Eagles try, and to Mike Zelinsky who was a class above all day.

 

Both clubs can be proud of their efforts with a strong showing by both sides in what promises to be a tantalizing local derby for years to come.

 

Round 2 Preview:

 

This coming Saturday (6.14), the Eagles are home to AMNRL powerhouse the Aston DSC Bulls.

 

This match promises to be a huge test for the Eagles who will look to build and improve on their performances each week.

 

The Bulls, as the losing grand finalists from 2007, will be looking to stamp their authority on the competition in 2008 and the Eagles must improve in the basic areas of ball retention and on field discipline to ensure that they are able to muster a challenge to a Bulls side likely to figure prominently in this years competition.

 

The club’s depth will be tested with captain Jordan Barber returning to England indefinitely for personal reasons, and five-eighth Craig Webb unavailable due to other engagements. The club is confident it can meet the challenge of playing a well established and benchmark side such as the Bulls and look forward to the match as a chance to gauge the clubs progress over the off-season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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