Nick Holton makes a break during a torrid afternoon for the Marlins against Easts.
Photo: Adam MacDonald
| Beast of a day as Marlins’ winning streak comes to an abrupt end By Adam Lucius |
| What: Shute Shield round 13 |
| Who: Eastern Suburbs v Manly |
| Where: Woollahra Oval |
| Result: Easts 34-19 |
| Manly is where on the table: Fifth (37 points) |
80 minutes in 80 seconds:
We will try to get through this quickly, shall we? Chopped around by injury and player unavailability – and up against a team welcoming back some Super Rugby firepower – Manly naturally looked a bit clunky and disjointed from the get-go. Easts capitalised on the uncertainty to race to a 29-0 halftime lead, much to the delight of the rowdy home crowd. We turned down the $10 sausage sandwich at the break and opted for a settling schooner in the hope of a Marlins revival. And, briefly, they gave us hope when Jay Baker scored a smart team try seven minutes into the second half. Another try at that stage may have made things interesting but Easts held firm and replied in the 62rd minute to make it 34-7. The Marlins came again through tries to Baker and Kotoni Ale to give us a glimmer of hope at 34-19 with eight to go (according to the schizophrenic Woollahra scoreboard clock). There was to be no miracle escape this time, but the Marlins at least ‘won’ the second half.
Where it was Lost:
Look, there are no excuses when you take the field and the players and coaching staff didn’t go looking for them. But take a peep at the players we had missing for various reasons: Adrian Hall, Max Douglas, James Hilterbrand, Sam Lane, Josh Turner, Adrian Blacklock and Alex Northam. During the game, fly-half James Ohmsen and second rower Alex Humfrey were both forced from the field with injury, while hooker Tametai Lomax suffered a nasty head wound. The bad news is some of these blokes will be missing again on Saturday. The good news is we get a couple back.
Marlins' best:
Jay Baker, Harry Emery, Alex Dalzell
What they said:
“We knew Easts were going to be desperate given where they were on the table. They wanted it more than us.” – centre Beaudein Waaka
Worth a mention:
This loss ended a four-game winning streak for the Marlins. In that time we didn’t rise above fifth spot, but kept pace with those above. The defeat at Easts saw no change of ladder position, but it means the Beasts and Gordon are now snapping at our heels. On the plus side, we are just five points off second.
Where to from here:
Eastwood always give us a tough time and it will be no different when they travel to Manly Oval on Saturday.
