Match Report Round 8 – O Captain! My Captain!
Eli Pilz…you little beauty.
The inspirational Stara Easts Tigers co-captain produced a series of match-winning heroics to guide his side to a stunning 38-36 victory over Sunnybank in a Round 8 StoreLocal Hospital Cup thriller.
With the undefeated Tigers trailing by eight points with four minutes left on the clock, the crafty halfback proceeded to score 10 points via his deadly right boot and sure hands to extend Easts’ winning streak in 2025 to seven games.
With time elapsed and the sides locked together at 36-all, Pilz cut a cool, calm and collected figure on the left-hand touchline and slotted the difficult conversion attempt to lift the Tigers over a brave and determined Sunnybank outfit.
How many times would the 2020 premiership-winning playmaker have visualised booting a match-winning conversion from the sideline during all those hours of goalkicking practice away from the bright lights of Premier Rugby?
Probably countless.
His poise and precision were simply a result of perspiration and preparation.
The conversion only came about after Pilz scored a trademark opportunist try in the corner in the dying seconds of injury time when any Tigers error would have ended the contest.
The Tigers scrum was dominating the tired Dragons in the closing minutes as Easts pushed for the win with a lion’s share of possession and field position and Pilz calling the shots.
A penalty try appeared imminent as the home side was unable to handle the power of the Easts pack.
The ball squirted out of a wheeling scrum and Pilz was in the right place at the right time to swoop and send the match to a 36-all deadlock.
Minutes earlier, Pilz kicked a penalty goal to reduce the margin to less than a converted try to start the late flourish from the Tigers.
Both sides scored five tries apiece in the see-sawing battle that did not resemble a match-up between first and last on the ladder.
Sunnybank took the fight to the depleted competition leaders who were without the trio of powerhouse no.8 Nuku Swerling, firebrand veteran hooker Andrew Ready and bone-crunching centre Matt Smit through injury.
The Tigers were undermanned further – and for a much more joyous reason – after prop Nick Bloomfield made his Queensland Reds debut at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Sunnybank led 24-14 at halftime after racing to a 21-7 buffer after just 24 minutes. They extended that advantage to 24-7 after half an hour of play to set the stage for what would have been the upset of the 2025 Hospital Cup.
However, Easts wrestled back the lead and the momentum when Reds squad member Max Craig crashed over after a perfectly executed rolling maul in the 59th minute after winger Gus Godwin crossed soon after the resumption of play from a deft Pilz pass.
Two rapid-fire tries to Sunnybank in the 67th and 68th minutes thrust the home side into the lead and within reach of just their second win of the season.
But Pilz and his Tigers were not to be denied as they stormed home to stay atop the ladder, keep possession of the Bunter Bowl and claim the Rick Tyrell Cup for matches played between Easts and Sunnybank.
The Tigers will return home for the Round 9 clash with GPS on Saturday, 31 May when the club will be holding its annual Ladies Day.
