Greg Davis 28/08/2025

BY GREG DAVIS IT is OK to be sad that the season is over. But also be proud of how far the Stara Easts Tigerscame in 2025 and the joy they gave the blue-and-gold faithful along the way. The Tigers’ Hospital Cup tilt finished one game shy of the Ballymore big dance when arampant Bond University blitzed their way to a 47-14 victory over Easts in the preliminaryfinal at Bottomley Park on Sunday. Bond will now take on Brothers in the 2025 showpiece at QRU headquarters this comingSunday and will take some beating in the decider having compiled an ominous...

Greg Davis 19/08/2025

By GREG DAVIS Pakistan cricket icon Imran Khan implored his players at the 1992 World Cup to “fight likecornered Tigers, because nothing is more dangerous than a cornered Tiger”. And that is exactly what Bond University will face when they take on the Stara Easts Tigersin the StoreLocal Hospital Cup Preliminary Final at David Wilson Field this Sunday for a placein the 2025 decider. The showdown for the last ticket to the Hospital Cup showpiece was set-up on a sparklingSunday afternoon at Sunnybank when the Tigers suffered a frustrating 38-28 loss toBrothers in the major semi-final while Bond sprung a...

Greg Davis 10/08/2025

BY GREG DAVIS The Stara Easts Tigers are 80 minutes away from a berth in the 2025 StoreLocal Hospital Cupgrand final after roaring into the major semi-final with a rollicking rollercoaster ride thatfinished with a 50-31 rout of GPS at Yoku Road. The Tigers will now take on Brothers in the major semi-final at Sunnybank this Sunday withthe winner earning a direct ticket to the Hospital Cup’s big dance at Ballymore on 31 August.Wests and Bond will face-off in the sudden-death minor semi-final – a fixture that Eastswere staring down the barrel of after a sluggish start in the Round...

Greg Davis 04/08/2025

BY GREG DAVIS POWERHOUSE no.8 Nuku Swerling returned to his bullocking, bone-crunching andblockbusting best as the Stara Easts Tigers completed a clean sweep of home games in 2025with the 36-21 victory over Sunnybank in Round 17 of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup. Eight times this year, the Tigers crossed the white line onto David Wilson Field and eighttimes, they emerged triumphant. Defending the hallowed home turf at Bottomley Park has been a major focus for the Tigersplayers and coaching staff throughout the campaign and they successfully repelled theireighth visitor with Swerling terrorising the Dragons at regular intervals. After a blistering start...

Greg Davis 30/07/2025

BY GREG DAVIS First came the rain. Then came the pain of the 28-10 loss to Brothers in the top of the table StoreLocal HospitalCup Round 16 clash at a water-logged Crosby Park. But the Stara Easts Tigers will get the opportunity to go again in their final home game ofthe year against Sunnybank this Saturday to claw back invaluable confidence andmomentum ahead of the finals. Injury was added to insult for the Tigers as hooker Max Craig and backrower Tau Tuisamoawere both forced to leave the field during the scrappy and sloppy encounter played inatrocious conditions. Craig gingerly hobbled...

Greg Davis 13/07/2025

Match Report - Round 15 The Stara Easts Tigers rediscovered their rolling maul mojo and ravenous defensive hunger to revitalise their 2025 campaign with a rough and tumble 26-15 win over Souths in Round 15 of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup. After the 50-31 loss to University in Round 14, Easts needed to provide an emphatic – and immediate – response. And a southside derby between two teams in the top four in front of a healthy crowd at Bottomley Park was the perfect stage to prove the St Lucia shocker was an outlier. If you like big blokes legally bashing...

Greg Davis 06/07/2025

The picturesque University of Queensland campus at St Lucia transformed into a grim School of Hard Knocks for the Stara Easts Tigers in the comprehensive 50-31 loss at the hands of the rampant Red Heavies in Round 14 of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup. Easts have deservedly inhabited the rarefied air of the top of the table for a vast majority of 2025 through the combination of stoic defence and slick attack but the Tigers were found wanting on both sides of the ball against a University side that has struggled for consistency. Coming off the bye in Round 13, the...

Greg Davis 22/06/2025

“Just win, baby” The catchphrase of the late owner of the Oakland/LA/Las Vegas Raiders NFL team Al Davis rang true at Bottomley Park after the Stara Easts Tigers claimed a 45-29 win over Bond University in Round 12 of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup. The colourful and controversial Davis favoured substance over style. Winning was the only thing that mattered. Your job, was to get the job done. The bottom line was the scoreline. Simple. Just like the NFL standings, the Hospital Cup ladder does not contain a column for how attractive a victory appears. Pretty doesn’t count. Gritty does. After...

Greg Davis 15/06/2025

To paraphrase the late, great US singer Meat Loaf, “don’t feel sad, nine out of 10 ain’t bad.’’ The Stara Easts Tigers suffered their first defeat in the StoreLocal Hospital Cup since 10 August 2024 when they fell to a 46-29 loss at the hands of Wests at Sci-Fleet Stadium in Round 11. The nine-game winning streak to open the 2025 title tilt came to an abrupt end for the high-flying Tigers as the Bulldogs piled on five tries after halftime to be the only team to lower Easts’ colours this season. Easts were without injured powerhouse no.8 Nuku Swerling,...

Greg Davis 09/06/2025

A hat-trick to hooker Max Craig headlined a high-scoring Hugh Courtney Oval brouhaha as the undefeated Stara Easts Tigers claimed a thumping 49-27 win over Norths in Round 10 of the StoreLocal Hospital Cup. Queensland Reds squad member Craig claimed his triple treat by the 45th minute and spent the last half hour as a makeshift no.8 as the Tigers coaching staff was forced to go to their bench early and often on a day of attrition. Craig surged into second place on the Hospital Cup try-scoring table after taking his 2025 tally to nine by clinically finishing off the...