The first grade line-up started well before the points began to slip, the full-time siren revealed the true damage on the score board with the Tigers going down 44-12. 

Early exchanges looked even with some great running and defensive efforts by both teams through the ruck, but it wasn’t long before the Bulldogs broke the drought.

Grant Moon was making incisive runs through the middle and absorbing defenders before offloading to the flankers and the Bulldogs found space on the right edge to score early. 

An exciting kicking game also put the Bulldogs in good territory, but Tigers fullback Joel Grewar was repeatedly under the ball to make a try-saving dash out of danger for the visitors. 

As play progressed Eden captain Michael Wykes was making some good metres with the assistance of English import Adam Curtis and Andrew Evelyn. 

Eden’s right-side attack wasn’t having as much luck with the Pambula-Merimbula centres dropping some bone-crunching tackles to a collective “ooh” from the crowd. 

Blake Schafer was up to his regular tricks and captain Zac Mikula was also in form with some good runs as the two sides matched up well for size and speed. 

A gritty reserve grade match-up formed the headline performance on the day with the Eels scoring an 18-0 win that did not reflect the quality of football played by both teams. 

The Panthers fronted up a big pack, while the Eels were diminutive in size, but boasted plenty of speed and stopping power. 

A highlight for spectators was some bone-crunching tackles and blitzing runs from both sides as the pair fought ferociously through the ruck. 

The Panthers had plenty of possession early on and big runs by Jake McDonald put the hosts in some strong early position, but it was unwavering defence by the Eels that kept the Panthers out repeatedly. 

Early kicks proved troublesome for both teams with a few shots going out on the full, while some high shots held up in the breeze and stayed flat. 

Jason Gannon was exceptional for the Eels with some blinding runs and was well supported by Matt McGovern, Joel Anderson and Tim Lambert. 

From the other end with the Panthers Haywood Fraser made his regular strong runs, while Nathan Moon was key on the attack out of dummy half. 

Both teams pushed each other to within metres of the try-line, but it was the Eels that were able to slip through narrow gaps and find the line for points. 

The under 18s went down in a crushing 70-0 loss and the league-tag Tigerettes had narrow losses in both their games on the day.