ALBION Park-Oak Flats Eagles chances of retaining their two-time crown are in tatters after the Eagles slumped to their fifth straight loss, going down 32-16 to Batemans Bay.
The Tigers’ win, their second in-a-row, has seen them move away from the wooden-spoon and gives them a boost into their last two games.
For the Eagles it was a disaster of mammoth proportions, with Berry’s draw against the Sharks earlier in the day meaning a win would see them slip into fifth spot on their own, but the loss now means they will have to not only win their last two games, but also rely on other results to sneak into the ‘five’.
After a tight opening 20 minutes the Park scored first through Danny Sartori, but the Bay replied minutes later when Josh Kirk put Jarred Searson over.
The scores continued to fluctuate and it was the Bay who went to halftime with a 14-12 lead when Searson scored his second try right on halftime.
The Bay scored again straight after the break when Tony Tyrell grabbed a loose ball from a kick and Brierley’s conversion gave the Bay an eight-point lead.
The Park were struggling to crack some good Tigers defence and with 15 minutes remaining the home side blew the game wide open when a Brierley grabbed an intercept and then two minutes later a grubber-kick by half Ben Ralston bounced badly for the Park and he was on hand to dive on the ball and with two conversions the game was as good as over at 32-12.
To their credit the Park rounded off the scoring in the final minutes, but it was too little too late.