Bundaberg Rugby League - Round Two: Western Suburbs Panthers vs Eastern Suburbs Magpies

Game 3 of Round 2 saw a cross-town derby, with Western Suburbs Panthers taking on Eastern Suburbs Magpies.

Wests, coming off a very tough Round 1 loss, were looking to improve and needed to put pressure on Easts from the start. Easts, on the other hand, were aiming to put Wests to the sword and prove they are the number one squad.

Wests came out with a lot more energy this round, holding their own against a very strong Easts outfit. They weren’t afraid to put their bodies on the line and rolled up their sleeves to take some tough carries. At times, however, they looked a bit out of place and lacked direction, forcing players into one-out runs that became easy pickings for the Easts forwards. Despite this, they managed to hold Easts to a relatively slow start, with the halftime score sitting at 22-0. It was in the second half where the floodgates truly opened.

Easts were on fire in the second half, piling on try after try. Tyson Douglas delivered some silky passes to set up the outside backs, while halves partner Dominic Maguire made several pivotal runs to get the team on the front foot, helping set up a hat-trick for winger Zac Ambertel.

In the end, it was the forward pairing of Tyrell Howard and Joshua Tanner that sparked the second-half avalanche. Howard was incredibly hard to stop, making multiple strong carries and running outstanding lines to help create tries. Tanner, meanwhile, was a workhorse in the middle. Going up against his former club, he showed exactly why he is considered one of the best front rowers in the game. Easts proved far too strong, particularly in that dominant second-half performance.

Tries

Wests –

Easts - Bradley Clarke, Kyle O’Dwyer, Joshua Tanner, Tyson Douglas, Zac Ambertel (3), Gula-Bari Shillingsworth (2), Tyrell Howard (2)

Conversions

Wests –

Easts – Tyrell Howard 8/11