Eagles fly into Grand Final

ALBION Park-Oak Flats Eagles produced one of their most commanding performances of the season recapturing winning form with a convincing 36-10 victory over the Shellharbour City Sharks at Centenary Field.

After a surprise loss to Gerringong in their last outing, the Eagles overcame a spirited Sharks outfit who came out firing, the game erupting several times in the first half. Referee Nick McInerney managed to keep a lid on the situation, as both sides were intent on testing each other out.

After a good build up it was a barging effort from prop Derek Gray that opened the Eagles try scoring account, his brother Dean soon followed, diving over from dummy-half to help set up a 12-0 lead.

The Sharks tried hard, but were being hamstrung by continued handling errors. With an increasing amount of possession the

Eagles extended their lead to 22-0 soon after halftime, with the rugged Darryl Brisbane crashing over.

The Shark fans had a chance to cheer in the 50th minute when flying winger Aaron Carney raced over, but the Eagles steadied and tries to Adam Bezzina, followed by a try to veteran half Ian Jones in what was possibly his last game at Centenary Field.

With the eagles up 32-4, Hans Schuster scored a consolation try for the visitors when he regathered his own grubber-kick eleven minutes from time. The Eagles responded quickly with centre Sean Jenkins taking advantage of an overlap to score and wrap up a convincing 36-10 win.

In a super team effort Derek Gray, Sean Jenkins, Steve Butfield and Cole Skelly were standouts, while Phil Lopez, Hans Schuster and Jamie Manukonga were best for the Sharks.