By Tallon Smith

The Berkeley Eagles have maintained their undefeated record in the Illawarra Rugby League’s Division 2 Harrigan Shield competition, defeating the Figtree Crushers 22-18 at Berkeley Sports Ground on Saturday afternoon.

In a match that ebbed and flowed, with both sides holding the advantage at different times, a try 30 seconds from full-time to Dean Hodgson sealed the win for the Eagles, who like last season are runaway leaders heading into finals.

Figtree were the better of the two sides for the vast majority of the match, running in two tries to one to hold a 12-4 advantage at the break.

However, the Berkeley side gained the ascendency in the opening stages of the second half to take the lead 16-12 midway through the stanza.

The Crushers were not done yet though, scoring a great try on the left hand edge to retake the lead 18-16 with six minutes to play.

Figtree were tightening the screws on the Eagles, with the Crushers completing their final few sets and forcing Berkeley to work it out of their own end.

But the match had one final twist, with Figtree giving away a crucial penalty on the halfway line with less than a minute to play, with the Eagles’ hooker Hodgson taking the quick tap and beating a handful of chasing defenders to score and send the Berkeley fans into raptures on the club’s Old Boys Day.

Berkeley Captain Martin Cramp said the win was “beautiful” in the way it turned out.

“It felt like they were ahead the whole game, and for us to jag that at the end, you don’t get much better,” he said.

“Old Boys Day, Saturday afternoon, Sun’s out.

“But it’s a lesson for the boys, you can’t [expect to] go through undefeated.”

Cramp said that the side are aiming to avoid going into the finals complacent, after holding an undefeated record all year in 2022, only to lose the Grand Final to Northern Suburbs.

“Last year we went through undefeated to the Grand Final and we got dusted,” he said.

“Now that’s a lesson there.

“We’re going to go through this year and hopefully we can go one better.”

When asked about the club’s ambitions if they were to win the competition, Cramp said they’d “absolutely” consider making the jump to First Division (Div 1 Reserve Grade), something that would potentially be a stepping stone for a return to First Grade, which the side were in pre-pandemic.

“We’re already talking to coaches and stuff like that, seeing who’s going to stick around next year and who’s going to play on,” he said.

“I’d love to go back up.”

Figtree Captain Jye Phillips said that whilst the loss was disappointing, his side was “good” in taking it to the competition leaders on their home turf.

“In that First half we completed really well, we went away from that in the first bit of the second half,” he said.

“We sort of clawed back at the end but we obviously lost our bundle in that last minute.

“But yeah, [overall] I thought we were really good.”

Regarding his side’s progress throughout the season, Phillips said that the match was the best game the side have played this season.

“Yeah, I thought today was our best game, even though we lost,” he said.

“We’ve been building every week, we’ve got a lot of new boys this year.

“We’re finally now getting used to playing with each other, so it’s good.”

When asked about the prospect of playing the Eagles again in the finals, he offered the following thoughts.

“If we can nail down that second spot, we will end up playing them in the first week of the finals and again possibly in the Grand Final,” he said.

“At least now we’ve put a bit of respect on our name and they’ll be watching over their shoulder.

“We still haven’t obviously beat them yet, but I think today shows we’re right on their tail.”

In other results from the Second Division, the Avondale Greyhounds scored a convincing win over last-placed Corrimal by 72 points to 12. Whilst the win is a massive one for Avondale, it must be again acknowledged that Corrimal are the only Illawarra Rugby League side fielding all three grades in 2023; First Grade, Reserve Grade (First Division) and Third Grade (Second Division).

First Grade

In First Grade action in the Illawarra this weekend, the Thirroul Butchers defeated Corrimal in a northern derby match 30-18 at Thomas Gibson Park. The win is a crucial one for the Butchers, as it keeps their head just above water in the top 4 as a charging Dapto Canaries side aims to take the last available finals position.

Speaking of Dapto, the Canaries also scored a last minute win over defending premiers Collegians, winning 20-14 at the Dapto Showground. The win sees the Canaries draw level with Thirroul in equal fourth, whilst Collegians’ grip on the Minor Premiership has been weakened, with the Collie Dogs now just one point clear of De La Salle Caringbah in second.

In the first fixture of the weekend, played as a curtain raiser to Newtown’s clash with Blacktown Workers in the NSW Cup at Henson Park, De La Salle beat Western Suburbs 34-18. The loss is Wests’ fourth in a row, a streak which comes after the side started the season in strong fashion, winning seven and drawing one to start the season.

First Division/Reserve Grade

In the First Division competition, Helensburgh beat Wests 28-22 at Rex Jackson Oval, whilst Collegians defeated Dapto 24-22. No official score has been released for the Thirroul v Corrimal match.

Cover Photo: Berkeley Sports Ground on Saturday afternoon, where a big crowd saw the top two teams clash in the Illawarra Division 2 Harrigan Shield competition.