It was raining, it was pouring and the Stara Easts Tigers were roaring in the season-opener against Norths at a water-logged David Wilson Field on Saturday.

Easts started their 2025 StoreLocal Hospital Cup campaign in emphatic fashion with the dominant Tigers forward pack at the very heart of the 37-10 victory over the Eagles.

The only thing more relentless than the torrential rain that forced the cancellation of all grades bar Premier Grade was the Easts scrum and rolling maul that had Norths on the back-foot for much of the 80 minutes.

Two pushover tries in the second half were the signature moments for the Easts pack much to the delight of the healthy number of Tigers faithful that braved the wet and wild weather with optimism high around Bottomley Park after a strong off-season on and off the paddock.

The vocal blue-and-gold army in the grandstand were also treated to an outstanding defensive display that featured bone-crunching hit after bone-crunching hit that forced a host of handling errors and turnovers from the Eagles.

A midfield rib-rattler from instant cult hero no.8 Nuku Swerling early in the first half set the menacingly physical and aggressive defensive tone for the home side.

The Tigers also benefitted from Swerling’s powerful charges with ball in hand with his significant post-contact metres putting Easts on the front foot. But he was not alone in bending the stressed Norths defensive line as the Tigers made inroads often.

The warm reception from the crowd when Swerling made his way from the field in the second half spoke volumes for his considerable impact on the result which could have been even wider on the scoreboard but for stray goalkicking in the difficult conditions.

Easts dominated field position and possession in the opening salvos with scheming skipper Eli Pilz pinning the visitors with a series of pinpoint box kicks while fullback Meli Dreu also pumped the ball into the corners to turn the Eagles around.

That suffocating pressure turned into points when Dreu crossed out wide after 20 minutes and hooker Andrew Ready crashed over from a rolling mail soon after.

An opportunistic five-pointer to inside centre Matt Smit then helped Easts take a 17-5 advantage into halftime.

The Tigers piled on the pain after the break with Dreu stepping through the Eagles blindside defence for his second try for the day.

A JP Tominiko try from a rolling maul after the two spirit-crushing pushover tries completed the convincing seven try to two victory.

The Tigers will host Wests at Bottomley Park this Saturday in the “Battle of the Compass’’ when all other grades get the opportunity to begin their season-proper.

The Bulldogs opened their 2025 Hospital Cup title tilt with a 15-14 win over Bond in Round 1.