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 45^th 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 powerful Easts rolling maul not once, not twice but thrice to cap off an excellent all-round individual performance.

The rolling maul of the table-topping Tigers has proven to be one of the most lethal attacking weapons in the competition this year and has been a driving force behind the peerless 9-0 record for the men in blue and gold.

Easts led 35-12 at halftime after a see-sawing opening 40 minutes.

The Tigers crossed early when centre Jake Pappin sliced through the Norths defence like they were traffic cones and found flanker Alex Smit backing up on the inside for the easiest of five-pointers.

For the next 15 minutes, it was all Norths as they camped inside their attacking half and pounded the stoic Tigers defensive line. Most of the Eagles attack went to their left side where giant winger Taqele Naiyaravoro loomed with intent.

For all the possession and field position enjoyed by the home side, they crossed just once to level the scores at 7-all.

Presented with the opportunity to reset and refocus after defending for an extended period, the Tigers bared their claws.

Craig grabbed his first five pointer in the 21^st minute from a well-executed rolling maul and prop Tom Fowler strolled over eight minutes later after a frenetic passage of play handed the visitors a significant overlap that was not wasted.

Co-captain Will Sankey bombed a certain five-pointer when he dropped the ball placing it over the tryline soon after but Easts – who had the penalty advantage up their sleeve – were able to quickly make amends.

Sankey was the most relieved figure at Shaw Road as Craig scored his second for the day and the Tigers underlined their dominance when they scored a penalty try against the feed just before the break.

The Eagles scrum was forced to backpedal at a great rate of knots and they were sprawled all over their own in-goal area after a massive shunt from the Tigers pack handed Easts seven points and the 35-12 buffer at the break.

Norths scored straight after the resumption of play after a kick-off reception mishap from the Tigers.

But Craig’s third try and a well-earned five pointer for hard-working blindside flanker Tau Tuisamoa completed the rout as Norths were able to add a level of respectability to the final score with some consolation tries.

Co-Captain Eli Pilz kicked a perfect six from six conversion attempts amidst another masterful playmaking performance for the clever halfback who must be a strong contender for the Alec Evans Medal given his persistent prominence in Easts’ blistering start to 2025.

The Tigers were also able to give valuable game time to youngsters such as George Stoddart, Joe Liddy, Jarrod Homan and Blake Davis in the second half in an added bonus for the visitors.

The next challenge for unbeaten Tigers will be Wests at Sylvan Road in Round 11 (Saturday, 14 June) before returning home to Bottomley Park for the Round 12 clash with Bond on Saturday, 21 June.