By MARK CASHMAN

The importance of taking your chances when they come in the Shute Shield was underlined as Eastwood defeated Eastern Suburbs 20-17 in a thriller on Saturday.

In a day when a draw may well have done both teams justice, the Woods scored three tries from their handful of opportunities and were able to manage having fullback Chris Bell and Michael Icely off the field for yellow cards at different times.

Late in the game Eastwood led 20-10 but the Beasts struck late with a try to Faalelei Sione which brought them back into the game.

“It was a classic wet weather football game where both teams tried to play territory. Easts probably did it better in first half while we probably did it better in the second half,” Eastwood head coach Ben Batger said.