Eastwood far from best in scrappy win over Manly, according to Batger
Eastwood lead the Shute Shield competition after two bonus point wins in the opening two rounds but are still a long way from their best according to coach Ben Batger.
The Woodies held off a late charge from Manly to claim a 31-27 victory over the Marlins at TG Millner on Saturday but Batger was far from impressed with his side’s efforts.
“We were our own worst enemy on Saturday,” Batger told Rugby News.
“We managed the game quite poorly and gave Manly far too many opportunities through poor execution.”
On the back of some damaging running from centre Enoki Muliufi and lock Manasa Rokosuka, Eastwood raced out to a 19-7 lead midway through the first half but let Manly back into the match and trailed 20-19 after a try and two penalty goals to Marlins centre Nick Holton.
“Manly certainly showed up to play but we definitely didn’t help ourselves through that middle part of the match,” Batger said.
“Silly options, like trying to run the ball out o