Premiers vs Stratford Eltham
With ground repairs underway on the main field at Victoria Park, Stratford, the earlier and Premier match was played on ground 2, but still a decent flat dry track.
The United team got out to an early lead with a long range penalty nudge from Ethan Reti after only 6 minutes.
Stratford Eltham, wearing blue & yellow supporting I Am Hope charity, responded within the next 5 minutes after some lack of discipline gave them a penalty opportunity to find the sideline deep in the Doggies red zone. A well constructed strong rolling maul helped the home side to chalk up the first try.
Both teams traded 3 pointers, and each a meat pie before half time.
Former Southland Stag, and United openside, Arese Poliko was on the outside of a good long-range attack, feeding Enele Fidow for a well constructed 5 pointer just before the half time whistle.
It proved a tight tussle in the first spell with the two teams only separated by 4 points at the break.
There is a reason the old saying "it's a game of two halves" is still current in todays rugby circles.
With a try just before half time, the Spotty Premiers had a sniff that they were just starting to edge back into the game.
However, Stratford Eltham, in-front of a decent home crowd, made the most of a good dry track to be the next two scorers with a converted try and penalty before Uniteds captain, Louis Bartley-Saena grabbed 3 more points off the tee.
The next 20 minutes were all Stratford Eltham as they put on an extra 21 unanswered points from seemingly all over the park.
Spotswood's winger, Ezra Low, did however provide United's play of the day with a well constructed backline attack from set play, with a stunner try in the 75th minute, providing some good footage for the hi-light reel.
Injuries have defiantly taken a large toll with a tough battle, and club wide we are hoping we can field teams this coming weekend.
Match report by Jiddles.
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