Eagles Academy Round 1 Wrap Up
Players Fielded
- Connor Rous
- Laura Cameron
- Lockie Tindale
- Melvin Posetta (happy birthday)
- Moses Faaola
- Moses Poreo
- Nathanael Mooney
- Paul Faaola
- Titan Sega
- Zeke Melmoth
Players Unavailable
- Aisea Taupeamuju – Sick
- Ryan Grocott – Injured
Grades Represented
- 1st Grade
- 2nd Grade
- Colts
- Women’s 10s
Results
- 1st Grade 22-39 L
- 2nd Grade 39-14 W
- Colts 72-7 W
- Women’s 15-37 L
Overview
This weekend the Academy took to the field in the opening round of the John I Dent Cup 2021. With an impressive spread across every single grade, the guys and girls gave a great account of themselves and showed why they are in an elite sports program. The total try tally for the cohort stands at 9 across the 4 teams with the Colts representatives scoring 7 out of the 10 trys a crewed.
Moses Poreo was the first member of this year’s intake to don the 1st Grade shirt, making his debut at scrum half and later seeing an interchange with fellow academy member Connor Rous. It was great to see these two aspiring 9s swap out and it looks like it will be a solid battle between them for a spot this year.
Reigning champions, 2nd Grade, saw Moses Faaola making an impact in the midfield opening the scoring for their campaign to retain the Spence Cup for a third straight year. Some dominant running and interplay with his outside center, and team captain, saw Moses set up their final points of the day with a lovely two on one. Coming off the bench, Nathanael Mooney and Melvin Posetta got their first taste of 2nd grade and injected themselves well.
On the field 2 Laura Cameron took the paddock for the Women’s 10’s team, playing on the wing. Laura also opened the scoring with some great support running getting her through the opposition and over the line. She then backed that up to trouble the defence with some slick footwork before putting her opposite wing into space for their second try.
The main event for our representatives was the Colts game where our lads ran amuck. Powerful running from Titan Sega, Nathanael Mooney and Melvin Posetta set the tone for the forwards, with Titan being unlucky not to be awarded a hattrick! In the backs Connor Rous, Lockie Tindale and Paul Faaola all crossed the line. All members of the squad were active in both attack and defence with an honourable mention to Zeke Melmoth for his double effort when outnumbered and out sized in defence.
All in all it was a good day for our players, although some of the scores were a bit hit and miss. The players all showed a glimpse of their potential which I for one am very excited to see develop over the rest of 2021.
Written by Academy Coach Stuart Crew