Easts Tigers recorded victory over Mackay, moving them into the Intrust Super Cup's top five over the weekend.
The Sunshine Coast's match was called off after a serious injury to Falcons player James Ackerman who sadly passed away on Monday. The Falcons' Round 16 match this weekend has been postponed due to the exceptional circumstances.
Tigers weather Cutters storm to claim victory
A disciplined Easts Tigers defence held out an early onslaught from the Mackay Cutters on Sunday, resulting in a 30-16 win.
The in-form Tigers started quickly, taking only eight minutes to find a way through the Cutters defence. A fast exchange of passes from Tom Butterfield, Isaac Kauffman and Jake Foster led to a swift run of play that culminated in a Maeli Seve four-pointer.
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Despite a consistent effort from the Cutters to probe the Tigers defence, the home side scored for a second time when Jake Foster found himself across the try line and underneath the posts after 17 minutes.
Back-to-back tries through Tyson Martin and Liam Taylor then allowed Mackay take the lead and overturn their deficit.
The Cutters' advantage was short-lived however as the Tigers were rewarded for their dominance of possession with Storm-listed forward Francis Taulau capitalising on a Tommy Butterfield pass to give the hosts at 16-12 lead at the half-time.
Having secured a slight buffer in the first half, the Tigers took control of proceedings after the main break and stamped their dominance on the match. Second half tries from Matt Duffie, Eddie Tautali and a second from Maeli Seve sealed an impressive performance that continued the Tigers recent run of good form.
Easts Tigers 30
Tries: Maeli Seve 2, Eddie Tautali, Matt Duffie, Jake Foster, Francis Tualau
Goals: Donald Malone 3
Defeated.
Mackay Cutters 16
Tries: Liam Taylor, Brad Lupi, Tyson Martin
Goals: Liam Taylor 2
At Langlands Park, Tapout Energy Stadium.
