Easts v Brothers Bottomley Park 3:00pm - 1/5/2010
17	Round 04	15

Easts ended a longstanding regular season drought against Brothers at Bottomley Park on Saturday, beating the reigning premiers 17-15 in round four of Queensland Premier Rugby.

The victory was the Tigers first in the regular season since coach Pat Richards took over in 2007 and leaves Brothers winless a month into the competition.

Easts opened the scoring with a try to QAS Reds Academy livewire Aidan Toua before Brothers responded with a five-pointer to captain and flyhalf Dallan Murphy.

Despite two missed penalty goals, the Tigers went into halftime ahead 14-7 following a try to centre Toby White.

Easts looked certain to extend their lead but wingers David Skelton and Jonathon Wilder both had tries denied by some desperate defence from the Brethren.

That was rewarded when a try to veteran Simon Price evened the score, but a penalty goal by Easts playmaker Matt Brandon and some sturdy defence at the conclusion of the game saw the Tigers walk away with their second victory this season.

Easts coach Pat Richards was ecstatic to grab the win, against a Brothers team he described earlier in the week as the benchmark in the competition.

“It was everything we thought it would be.  They had their opportunities to win it, so we did…we got there,” Richards said.

“We showed a fair bit of commitment, patience and just toughed it out in the end.

“I’m just totally blown away at the moment.  Next week is another week, but we’ll enjoy the win.”

Brothers coach Zane Hilton was left lamenting plenty of missed opportunities.

“We’ve been working harder on our execution.  That’s probably the big thing that let us down today,” Hilton said.

Hilton also paid credit to Easts playmakers Tim Walsh and Brandon for controlling the tempo of the match.

“Credit to Easts.  An absolute shut-out game.  Tim Walsh and Matty Brandon kicked well, played the ball down our half,” he said.

Easts 17 (A Toua, T Walsh tries T Walsh 2 con M Brandon 1 pen) bt Brothers 15 (D Murphy, S Price tries D Murphy 1 con 1 pen)

Match report by Amy Hutchinson