Eastwood go down in Shute Shield finals clash 22-15 to Warringah
Eastwood were unable to get in the way of history as Warringah disposed of the Woods 22-15 to set up a repeat of the 2018 Shute Shield grand final.
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A GREAT Shute Shield season has come to a disappointing end for Eastwood after going down 22-15 to Warringah in their finals clash at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.
There was an electric atmosphere headed into the match as both sides spent most of the regular season neck-and-neck at the top of the table.
The opening half was marred by poor discipline from Eastwood which allowed Warringah to open up a 19-point lead.
It wasn’t until prop Patrick Sio crossed that the Woods gathered momentum.
Another try saw Eastwood edge closer to making their fifth Shute Shield grand final in nine years when winger James Sarks found his way over the line to bring them within seven.
It just wasn’t enough as Warringah held Eastwood’s fearsome forward pack at bay to cement their rematch from last year’s grand final against Sydney University.
Eastwood general manager Robert Frost said it was a tough way to bow out.
“We just seemed to lack intensity all around the park,” he said. “The coach tried very hard to rev them up at half time and made a lot of changes in the second but the boys let themselves down. They definitely had the capacity to go a bit further but just didn’t deliver on the day. It was a good season but the last game really didn’t do it justice. No one is more disappointed in the result than the boys.”
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the club though as Eastwood’s fourth grade side booked a grand final spot after toppling Gordon 11-7 at Coogee Oval earlier in the day.
The Woods take on Sydney University at 9.05am on Saturday at Bankwest Stadium.
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