A perpetual shield named for former president of both the Candelo-Bemboka Panthers and Bermagui-Cobargo Eels, David Allen, was retained by the Eels on Sunday.
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The Bermagui squad cleared a comfortable 36-10 win at Eden’s George Brown Memorial Oval after some impressive line-breaks and a resilient defensive effort.
The Eels shot to the lead early with Tim Lambert finding space down the left flanks before play settled and fluctuated through the middle.
The Eels were pushed back to their defensive 20 when fullback Geeps Pretorius made a line-break on the right fringe and bolt 80 metres to be pulled up just shy of the try-line.
However, a quick play and pass to the left saw veteran centre Ian Smith crossing under the posts.
After another power-struggle through the middle, the Panthers were again pushing the attack and found the line after the Eels were ruled offside about 30 metres out.
The Panthers surged down the left flank before heading to the centre where Wade Irvin shoved his way under the posts and getting the score to 12-6.
Handling errors from both teams saw play change hands repeatedly, but it was the Eels coming up with some breaks to score.
The Eels extended their lead with a quick try left of the posts before Tim Lambert struck again.
Accurate kicking from Joel Anderson provided the extras for the visiting Eels and the Bermagui-Cobargo club skipped to a 24-6 lead.
The Panthers began picking up momentum in the second half and looked like a turnaround threat with some classy plays falling just short of the line.
However a solid attacking run saw Haywood Fraser land just right of the posts, but the kick faded left as the Panthers went to a 10-30 deficit. In the final minute, the Eels struck again when Pretorius made a 40-metre burst off an Anderson line break to score.
Anderson’s conversion kick cleared the black dot as the siren sounded with the Eels running out 36-10 winners.
In women’s play, the Pink Panthers league-tag roster looked dangerous against the Eden Tigerettes, but ultimately went down 16-4.
Eden’s Amber Kennedy opened the scoring with a 40-metre run off a line-break to score under the posts. However, the Pink Panthers applied good attacking pressure with some spreading play 10 out and Nikki Perry found space to score under the posts.
Eden shut down efforts before putting on its own points in the second half as Kiara Banks scored before Kennedy wrapped up a double to finish the scoring 16-4.
The final home and away round will see the Eels line up against Bombala at Eden’s George Brown Memorial Oval on Sunday.