By Jon Geddes

DURING the week Charlie Jeavons-Fellows works as a structural engineer – and on Saturdays he is a key  figure in building the strong defensive wall of Shute Shield hopefuls Northern Suburbs.

And on the weekend the steel in that wall was really put to the test as Norths took on Warringah at North Sydney Oval.

In a big boost for Norths’ premiership aspirations the team valiantly handled wave after wave of Warringah attack close to their line and came away with a 27-21 win in what was No.7 Jeavons-Fellow debut as first grade captain.

The incredible statistics from the game reveal that Norths made 200 tackles compared to 65 by Warringah.  

“We’ve proved we can score a few tries and that was a great show in defence by the boys today,” Jeavons-Fellows told Rugby News after the game.

“Credit to Warringah, they really came at us in the second half. It was great to know we can hold them out and not let in that many points.

“Coming into the back end of the season you need to rely on good defence so that’s going to bode well for us in the coming games.”

And Jeavons-Fellows believes Norths’ great strength right now is that  strong defence.      

“We are in a good spot on the table, we haven’t had too many points scored against us so we know we can rely on that,” he said. “And then we have some awesome outside backs who can put on a show for us.”

TESTING TIMES

Norths coach Zak Beer was well aware of the challenge his side would face against the Rats and was not fooled by the fact they were sitting in 11^th spot on the ladder.

“Warringah have shown in the last 20 minutes of the last four or five games they have scored on average something like 15 or 20 points,” Beer said.

“We knew they were going to come home strong and I reckon the possession in that last 20 minutes would have been 80:20 for them. So for our boys to hold strong, that was really pleasing.”

With the closeness of the competition this year, Beer knows there will be no let up for his side over the remainder of the competition, starting with this Saturday’s big game against Eastwood at TG Millner Field.

“Any game this time of the year is finals intensity,”  Beer said.

“I think if you look at the scores from the last couple of rounds right across the grounds most games are a toss of the coin.

“I don’t think it matters where teams are sitting on the ladder.”

LEADER OF THE PACK

THE game was a proud moment for Jeavons-Fellows, who led his side for the first time in the absence of regular captain Harry Bury, who was out with a rib injury.

“It was awesome, these are a great bunch of blokes and it was a privilege to run out in front of them,” Jeavons-Fellow said. 

“Hopefully Harry will be back in the next game or two, so I will be back to my role, but I actually loved it today.”

And his performance gave a bit of an insight into what may lie ahead for Norths down the track.

“He has been our vice-captain the last few years – he was so impressive today and the whole week the way he managed the team,” Beer said. “He is definitely a long-term captain of this side.”

Beer said Jeavons-Fellows has been one of the best No.7s in the competition for the past few years.

“He had a few weeks off with a shoulder injury, but on average he nearly tops the comp in turnovers at the breakdown,” the coach said.

“He is just a smart footballer and he is still only young. He has a great future in front of him.”

Jeavons-Fellows was actually a hooker with the NSW Schoolboys while attending Scots College.

He made the switch to the backrow when he had a season in England with Worchester Warriors the year after he left school.     

“I was playing over in the UK and they looked at me and said: ‘we cant have an 85kg hooker, so you are going to backrow’,” he said.

It proved to be a smart career move.

When he came back he had a season with Norths Colts before moving up to grade and has ended up a victorious first grade captain – something he never envisaged when he joined the club.