THE MACKSVILLE Sea Eagles fell just short yet again on Sunday at Allan Gillett Oval when they were defeated by the Sawtell Panthers 34-30 in their Tooheys New Group 2 rugby league clash.
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Both teams went into this match on equal points and both were desperate to ensure the two points went their way in the search for a top five position, but in the end the Panthers proved too determined for the Eagles.
The game see-sawed for the first 20 minutes, neither side dominating till the Eagles' Neville Donovan took control, putting Peter Bula in for the first try and Sam Miles in for the second.
As in their previous games the Eagles seemed to lose concentration after building up a lead and two quick tries by the Panthers saw the half time score read 12-all.
Cameron Southan scored early in the second half, stepping and dummying through the defence and Donovan converted to put the Eagles out to 18-12.
The lead was short-lived, however, and after two Panthers' tries they went to a 22-18 lead.
Steve Walker scored next for the Eagles on the back of good charges by Damien Carriage and Josh Cockbain and when Walker gave the final pass for Grant Collison to score, the Eagles led 30-22.
The Panthers struck back quickly to reduce the Eagles' lead to 30-28 before they crossed for a final try five minutes from the end to get the win.
The reserve grade clash started badly for the Eagles who found themselves 10-0 down in the early stages before Andrew Brown crossed to reduce the Panthers lead to 10-6 after Cameron Cohen converted.
The Panthers dominated the half from there to lead 22-6. After the break tries to Tyler Blair, Dave Lindsay and Cohen put real pressure on the Panthers but a try midway through the half gave the Panthers a 28-22 win.
In the Under 18s Macksville shocked the competition leader, winning 20-18. Beau Langford scored two tries for the Eagles while Finn Laverty and Zane Doolan scored a try each and Doolan and Mitch Morrison scored a goal each.
The Women’s League Tag saw the Eagles take on the competition leaders who won 34-10. Kerry Jarrett and Maddison Smart scored a try each for the Eagles while Kaleishah Roberts kicked a goal.
This Sunday sees the Eagles travel to Grafton to take on the South Grafton Rebels in four grades, with the women to kick off at 11am.
