Winning ugly can be a thing of beauty.

So the 30-17 victory over GPS in atrocious conditions at a rain-lashed David Wilson Field was as pretty as a picture for the Stara Easts Tigers in Round 9 of the 2025 StoreLocal Hospital Cup.

The table-topping Tigers reached the halfway mark of the home-and-away season with a perfect 8-0 record but it was not easy against a gallant Gallopers outfit that dominated field position and possession in the last hour of the contest on the back of a glut of penalties.

It was a classic wet-weather slugfest on Ladies Day and despite being forced to defend for significantly large chunks of the match, Easts triumphed through a combination of what has become trademark grit in defence and the ability to grab rare point-scoring opportunities with both hands.

Good teams win when they have no right to. They just find a way.

Presented with the same set of circumstances last season, Easts would have succumb to GPS under the avalanche of ball and territory enjoyed by the visitors on a dismal late May afternoon.

But the 2025 Tigers are made of stern stuff. Easts sit atop the Hospital Cup standings with wins over every other club for good reason.

They have managed to find a way thus far. Tougher challenges await for the Tigers as they turn for home in their 2025 title tilt but they will enter the business end of the season with confidence in their collective ability to win from any position.

Heavy rain smashed Bottomley Park in the hours before kick-off but Easts hit the soggy ground running with a rolling maul try to Tigers hooker Andrew Ready in the fourth minute after Easts absorbed some early attacking salvos from the Gallopers.

A couple of charge downs and another loping run from an intercept to co-captain Will Sankey kept Easts on the front foot and winger BJ Oates crossed out wide in the 14^th minute after an expansive movement to hand the home side a well-deserved 10-0 buffer.

GPS hit back through a rolling maul try of their own and a penalty goal to level the scores at 10-all but Easts took a 17-10 advantage into halftime after Ready crashed over again for the Tigers after returning powerhouse no.8 Nuku Swerling popped a lovely ball close to the line.

Ready’s second five-pointer came against the run of play and the Tigers extended their lead to 20-10 soon after the resumption of play in the second half through a rarely-taken penalty goal to co-captain Eli Pilz.

GPS had all the momentum and closed the gap to a slender 20-17 in the 58^th minute after having a lion’s share of possession with Tigers prop JP Tominiko yellow carded after a stream of penalties to the Gallopers.

The tenacious Tigers defended grimly as GPS launched wave after wave of attacking raids as the rain continued to pour and with the game in the balance, Easts found another gear in the mud and slush to absorb the pressure and kick away.

A try to replacement hooker Max Craig put the match on ice when he scored from a well-executed rolling maul in the dying minutes to put the result beyond doubt.

The Tigers will be on the road for the next fortnight with away games against Norths (June 7) and Wests (June 14) before heading home to Bottomley Park for the clash with Bond on June 21.

The clash with the Gold Coast side is the only home game in a five-week stretch for Easts that also includes a bye and a trip to St Lucia to take on University.