Cowra Eagles dominate Shute Shield

By DAN RYAN The Cowra Eagles first grade team have secured themselves a handy 46-31 victory against the Forbes Platypi at a home game at the Eagle's Nest in the much anticipated second round of the Shute Shield. Attendance was strong, with spectators kept warm in the rainy weather by efforts from Lil at Elite Espresso and the canteen and bar staffed continuing to work well into the night. Forbes' supporters came out in strength and could be heard hollering at key moments to offput the sure footed Eagles. First grade coach Adam Mieklejohn said it was a great day for the club, which saw wins for men's second grade as well as women's teams earlier that day. "It was a clean sweep: women's, second grade and first grade is a perfect day for us .All three sides played really well, which is encouraging." Attendance wasn't just strong in the stands, the teams themselves were able to put numbers forward, contributing to the victory and club culture. "Particularly first and second grade have a lot of depth, being able to give 41 players a run on the day is fantastic." Mr Meiklejohn said, who attributed at least some of the strong performance to the atmosphere of the event itself. "[Definitely] the excitement of the Shute Shield, players want to play a home game for one thing, as well as in front of a big crowd. There was a really nice atmosphere there. There's a good culture in the club at the minute, amongst the players. They all want to play and they're committed to the season rather than a week here or there." Forbes opened play with strong offense, but didn't managed to break the Eagles who held their ground through grit and discipline. "Our defense in the first eight minutes, while they were camped on our line set the tone for us. We didn't back down." Mr Meikeljohn said adding "We gave away a couple of penalties but once we had the ball in hand, we were really working in our style and the boys executed it really well." "The next twenty minutes we had three tries -which was probably to our demise a bit because we switched off- got a bit complacent, falling into a bit of an arm wrestle in the momentum in the wet weather." Mr Meikeljohn said seeing the Eagles contend with the weather and initial attack of the Forbes side impressed him. "I was really impressed with the way we came out of the blocks and got the ball, weathering the storm for the first eight or nine minutes." An early break in the Forbes line came from Jason Paul, hailing from the United States, having played a lot of 7's Rugby in the US, clearly coming to terms with the physicality and speed of play. Mr Meikeljohn also praised the ability for the Eagles to use their initiative, exploiting weaknesses in the Platypi's defences. "[The rain was] a nice change, we didn't drop as much ball as the previous week, which is surprising in the rain. We probably played a bit too laterally at times, but also I'm not out there in the field and it does feel different in a game to what we see on the sideline. We have to trust the players to have a bit of instinct and not be afraid to try. If they make a mistake, that's fine - it's what we do after." When it came to player performance, the team worked as a whole rather than individuals. "Not even to sit on the fence, I probably wouldn't single anyone out." Mr Meikeljohn said. "Every player contributed in a positive manner toward the victory. They all rolled their sleeves up in some way, there were mistakes made but they started to click and gel as a team." After a successful weekend from all in the club, the Eagles are turning their view to the next game against Bathurst. "I have a heap to work on. It's one week, one session at a time. Bathurst are going to be hurting after two losses, they'll be coming to Cowra fired up to get their season started. We're expecting them to come out all guns blazing and ambush us; so we're going to be really focused on tightening up a few areas around the ruck where we we were weak on Saturday, and mentally be ready for the bash and barge of the Bulldogs." The team will dust off and prepare for the next round, which will be at home.