In a match where the lead changed several times, the Eagles were forced to pull out all stops and only claimed the winning try in the 71st minute when prop Kane Scarratts was on the back of a piece of magic from rookie centre Drew Hutchison to score the match-winner.

The youngster somehow managed to get his boot to a ball on the final tackle, despite being grabbed by a Jamberoo defender, and Skarratts got a perfect bounce to score under the posts.

The match itself had plenty of highlights, with the home side grabbing an early try when second-rower Josh Cuthbert outlept the Eagles to score under the posts and Matt Coelho converted.

It took the Eagles, who were without several regulars including lock Jason Hooper and fullback Danny Sartori from last week’s clash against Gerringong, until the 21st minute to reply with a good offload from Matt Webster and quick hands from Dean Gray for Derek Gray to crash over next to the posts. Matt Carroll converted to level the scores at 6-all.

The Superoos hit the lead again in the 26th minute when a mid-field bomb was regathered by the returning Willie McDonald and he got a great pass away and centre Tim Small sprinted away to score in the corner. Matt Coelho converted from touch for Jamberoo to lead 12-6.

The Eagles then steadied and half Matt Carroll scored a typically classy try when he sliced through from 30 metres out in the 33rd minute and just four minutes later turned provider as a long ball gave Hutchison room to score in the corner and give the visitors a 16-12 lead at half-time.

Needing to score first after the break, the home side got a perfect start when Small showed his class when he got space down the left-hand side of the field and raced 60 metres to score near the posts and Coelho’s conversion put the Superoos back in front 18-16.

Unfortunately for Jamberoo that lead was short-lived when the classy Skarratts burst over close to the posts and Carroll’s conversion put them back in front, 22-18, but this was just a pre-cursor to the try of the match from the Superoos.

It came from centre Bowen Phillips after Coelho produced a superb ‘banana’ kick, reminiscent of similar pieces of Wests Tigers Benji Marshall magic, and Phillips lept high to grab the ball and level the scores at 22-all.

Unfortunately the home side’s discipline cost them dearly, handing the Eagles too much ball in the final stages and Hutchison’s magic kick for Skarratt’s second try to give the Eagles two vital points.

Among some great performances, Kane Skarratts, Matt Carroll, Drew Hutchison, Dean Gray and Sean Jenkins played strongly for the Eagles, while the returning Willie McDonald, Tim Jones, Phil Webster, Tim Small and Scott Drewe were best for the Superoos.

By CHRIS DOBIE

THE Nowra Bomaderry Jets ended Berry Shoalhaven Head's winning run to an end with a close fought sea-sawing 20-14 win under lights at the Nowra Showground on Saturday night.

With the evening temperature not plummeting to the depths many had feared, a large crowd made their way to the Jets' home ground and were treated to an evening of entertaining rugby league match.

The Jets got off to a great start and had a six point lead over the Magpies when Adam Quinlan cut through the Berry defence to score just wide of the posts within the first ten minutes.

Quinlan's successful conversion gave the Jets a 6-nil lead.

The Jets lead was then extended to ten points when Sam Stewart put a nicely weighted grubber kick past the opposition's defensive line and into the in-goal area for centre Zac Kershaw to dive on, which gave the home side a 10-nil lead. Quinlan was unable to add the extras this time round.

The Magpies finally got onto the scoreboard at the 25-minute thanks to a great Mitch Liddicoat solo effort, which made the score 10-6 after Josh Coulter's conversion.

The Magpies looked to be in with a chance of closing the six point gap until Zac Kershaw teamed up with his fellow centre to score out wide, opening the gap to a 14-4 lead.

Adam Quinlan was again unable to convert Kershaw's try and so the score remained 14-6.

Just before half time, Berry finally found a way around the Jets defence allowing Aaron Pont to score out wide, which made the score 14-10.

The conversion was a tough one for Coulter, which he missed and the score remained 14-10 as the teams headed to the sheds for a half-time briefing.

Berry burst out of the blocks in the second half and when Josh Coulter worked his way around the defence to score out wide and the game was locked up at 14-all with 30 minutes to go.

Coulter missed the kick but Berry looked to have the momentum.

Berry enjoyed a purple patch and when Joe Rogers placed a beautifully weighted kick out wide for Coulter to dive on, it appeared the Magpies had taken the lead.

However, the touch judge ruled that Coulter was in front of the kicker and the 14-all deadlock remained.

Bad luck soon turned to despair for Berry coach Adam Hayburn when the Magpies had yet another try disallowed.

"A loose ball in the in-goal area was missed by everyone and Josh Coulter dived on it," Hayburn said.

"The referee said a Jets player had grounded to ball so the try was disallowed."

With the clock ticking down it was left to the partnership of Quinlan and Stewart to break the deadlock.

A well-timed inside pass from Sam Stewart put Adam Quinlan into a gap and across the line to take the score to 18-14.

A bit of pushing and shoving followed but with calm restored and all players still on the field, the referee awarded the try.

Quinlan converted to make it 20-14 which was the fulltime score and the Jets retained third place on the ladder.

Jets coach Chris Quinlan was happy to see his side bounce back from last weekend's loss to Batemans Bay.

"We are going really well at the moment, ticking a lot of the boxes and we are quietly confident we can make the semi-finals," he said.

Hayburn was disappointed his side's winning run had come to an end.

"We didn't play our best and they just kept hanging in there and finally snuck in a last minute try to grab the match."

While the win keeps the Jets in third place Berry's loss sees it slip into fifth position on the competition ladder.

Best players on the park were Adam Quinlan, Sam Stewart and Zac Kershaw.

Phil McCarroll

THE Gerringong Lions have overcome a spirited Batemans Bay Tigers side to keep to remain the sole undefeated side in the South Coast Group 7 competition, triumphing 48 – 26 at Michael Cronin Oval on Sunday.

Spearheaded by four tries to live wire half Rixon Russell and three to full back Joel Roberts, the Lions fought back from an early 12 point deficit to run away with the game in the second half.

After a sloppy opening stanza, the visitors stunned the home side with two quick tries, lock Mason Harrison was first on the scene to pounce on a grubber with Willy Newton converting to make it 6 – 0, the centre soon after doubled the lead taking an intercept and converting his own try.

Not used to playing from behind on their home ground, the Lions sprung into action, Nathan Ford took advantage of some good lead up work to dart out of dummy half to make it 12 – 4.

The next set the Lions reduced the lead to two, Brad Davidson broke through and found Russell to give him his first for the day, Robert’s conversion bring it to 12 – 10.

The home side looked to have taken control of the game when Pat Cronin dummied his way through the Tigers’ line to send Russell away for his second with Roberts’ second conversion giving them a 16 – 12 lead.

The Tigers weren’t about to let the game slip away and Shaun Creswell crossed under the posts, Newton’s third conversion made it 18 – 16 at half time.

The lead changed hands again almost immediately after half time, Cronin weaving his way through the defensive line to put Roberts away, making it 22 – 18.

The Lions’ lead didn’t last long, in the space of three minutes Tigers’ winger Matt Hensley scored two almost identical tries, flying high to reel some pin point kicking by Newton, the centre missed both sideline conversions, leaving the score 26 – 20.

As it looked like their unbeaten run might come to an end, the Lions finally clicked into gear, Cronin sliced through the Tigers’ line again to put Roberts in under the posts, the fullback converting to make it 26 all.

Russell had his third soon after thanks to some excellent hands, Ford re-gathering his deflected kick on the run before finding the speedster, Roberts again converting to make it 32 – 26.

Roberts then has third soon after, converting to make it 38 – 26 before the home side wrapped the game up with a try to Kal Collins with.

The home side then capped of the day with another run away try to Russell, Roberts’ conversion rounding out the scoring.

For the Lions Russell, Davidson and Roberts stood out, while for the Tigers Grant Roberts, Michael Tadich and Adam Stone did all they could.

Kiama Knights 20 d Warilla Gorillas 18.

Kiama Knights had some anxious moments in the second half after they scored a vital 20-18 win over Warilla-Lake South Gorillas in Sunday’s VB South Coast Rugby League match at Cec Glenholmes Oval.

The Knights win, which broke a worrying losing steak and saw them move into clear fourth spot came after they looked to be well in control when they led 20-6 at half-time but had to overcome a gutsy comeback from the Gorillas to hold on to win.

The Gorillas took an early 6-0 lead through prop Andrew Diomei and they held that lead until the 20th minute before an amazing turnaround.

Firstly stand-in half Ben Brookfield leveled for Kiama with a clever with a converted try and this was to be the trigger for the Knights to go on a scoring blitz that included three tries in seven minutes from the 29th to 36th minutes.

Firstly replacement fullback Tommy Atkins fooled the defence with an amazing flick pass on the blind-side from dummy-half to put winger Jack Rheinerger over in the corner and veteran Marc Laird does as he often does and stepped though for a simple converted try.

Then it was some scrappy play as the ball was knocked backwards ina tackle and Rheinberger simply scooped the ball up and dived over for a 20-6 lead.

The Gorillas looked out on their feet, but in true Gorillas style they refused to give in and despite a mounting injury toll continued to fight and converted tries to Luke Roberts (50th minute) and skipper Linken Hutchinson (64th minute) closed the gap to just two. Hutchinson went within an ace of grabbing the win with five minutes remaining but couldn’t ground the ball.

In an at-times scrappy affair, Ben Brookfield, Jade Lucas, Jake McDonald and Cam Whittaker were best for the Knights, while Hutchinson, Diomei, until injured, Joel Skeates and Luke Roberts were best for the Gorillas.

VB South Coast Group 7 Rugby League results round 13, June 7 and 8.

Nowra-Bomaderry Jets 20 (A. Quinlan 2, Z. Kershaw 2 tries A. Quinlan 2 goals) d Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies 14 (J. Dolan, A. Pont, M. Liddicoat tries J. Coulter goal).

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles 28 (K. Scarratts 2, M. Carroll, Derek Gray, D. Hutchison tries M. Carroll 4 goals) d Jamberoo Superoos 22 (T. Small 2, B. Phillips, J. Cuthbert tries M. Coelho 3 goals).

Kiama Knights 20 (J. Rheinberger 2, M. Laird, B. Brookfield tries B. Brookfield 2 goals) d Warilla-Lake South Gorillas 18 (L. Hutchinson, A. Diomei, L. Roberts tries C. Nolan 3 goals).

Gerringong Lions 48 (R. Russell 4, J. Roberts 3, N. Ford, K. Collins tries J. Roberts 6 goals) d Batemans Bay Tigers 26 (M. Hensley 2, M. Harrison, W. Newton, S. Creswell tries W. Newton 3 goals).

POINTS: Gerringong 24, APOF 22, Jets 16, Kiama 14, Berry, Warilla 12, Jamberoo 11, Batemans Bay 10, Milton 5.

RESERVE GRADE

Nowra-Bomaderry Jets 30 (A. Preston 2, R. Fungerland, N. Carpenter, N. Cox, D. Longbottom tries A. Preston, N. Cox. B. Hobbs goals) d Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies 18 (M. Goode. J. Pender, J. Dudgeon tries J. Pender 2, J. McNamara goals).

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles 20 (C. Pemberton, A. Daniel, C. Rowles, J. Scurr tries Z. Jurd 2 goals) d Jamberoo Superoos 10 (J. Good, A. Brodie tries S. Adams goal).

Warilla-Lake South Gorillas 18 (C. Lisch, N. Mackinnon, P. Hooper, D. Tough tries N. Mackinnon goal) d Kiama Knights 16 (O. Powell, R. Blanch, J. Gilmore tries M. Gladman 2 goals).

Gerringong Lions 34 (J. Blair 3, B. Overton, D. Reid, L. Fownes tries K. Hobbs 3, J. Blair 2 goals) d Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs 4 (J. Doyle try)

UNDER 18s

Kiama Knights 26 (J. Robinson 2, C. Tanoia, M. Parkinson, M. Morris tries M. Boles 2, B. Wade goals) drew with Warilla-Lake South Gorillas 26 (J. Dee 2, D. Corran, J. Garrett tries M. Sherack 5 goals).

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles 102 (K. Holloway 6, B. Jones 4, J. Sainsbury 3, B. Skelly, T. Price, K. Williams, R. James, B. Dalbrusco tries B. Jones 14, R. James goals) d Bay and Basin Sharks 0.

Gerringong Lions 38 (A. Serafini 2, C. Gordon, C. Mulhall, Z. Bowing, J. Doosey, J. Jones tries C. Gordon 4, A. Serafini goals) d Batemans Bay Tigers 28 (A. McCann 2, C. Thompson, J. Pietch, S. Connell tries J. Pietch 4 goals).

WOMEN’S LEAGUE TAG

Nowra-Bomaderry Jets 32 (S. Jarvis 2, T. Atfield 2, B. Chittleborough, A. McPherson tries T. Atfield 4 goals) d Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies 10 (J. Barry, L. O’Leary tries J. Strong goal).

Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles 18 (K. Nash 3, K. Nolan tries K. Nolan goal) d Jamberoo Superoos 6 (E. McParland try M. Shaw goal).

Kiama Knights 36 (A. Westlake 3, K. Pan 2, J. Emerson, C. Lee tries K. Pan 4 goals) d Warilla-Lake South Gorillas 0.