By David Nagel
The Pakenham Eels Rugby League season took a much-needed upswing on Saturday with a 23-12 victory over Knox at Colchester Reserve in Boronia.
The Eels had a worrying start to the season, being thumped 50-4 by an impressive Casey Warriors outfit in round one before a much-improved effort against Waverley Panthers in round two.
The Eels didn’t get the points against the Panthers, but showed enough to suggest their round one showing against the Warriors was merely a blip on the radar.
After two consecutive losses, the Eels bounced back against the Raptors in their first clash away from Comely Banks Reserve.
The Eels scored four tries to two, and spread the load nicely with two tries each in the first and second half.
David Jonassen-Hammond set the scene by crossing the line in the fifth minute, before the Raptors answered just 10 minutes later.
Abel Salesulu then started a run of three-consecutive tries for the Eels, who had the game secure in their keeping when Oscar Hellier scored a late consolation converted-try for the Raptors.
The Eels task was made slightly easier at the start of the second half when Panthers half-back Lowell Wolfgramm was sin-binned after 45 minutes of play.
The Eels scored a minute later to double their six-point advantage.
The Eels remain on the road this Saturday, taking on the Truganina Rabbitohs at 3.55pm.
The junior Eels didn’t fare so well on the weekend, with the under-18 side going down 52-0 to Casey and the under 16s doing only slightly better in a 52-4 loss to Truganina.
The Eels had a busy time of it last week with the club hosting the NRL Victoria Masters Anzac Day game between NRL Victorian sides of Australia and New Zealand.
Results: Storm Premiership Second Grade Men: Eastern Raptors 12 lost to Pakenham Eels 23, Truganina 14 lost to Waverley Panthers 36, Casey Warriors 50 def Sunshine Cowboys 0.
Ladder: Casey Warriors 4, Eastern Raptors 4, Waverley Panthers 4, Sunshine Cowboys 4, Pakenham Eels 2, Truganina Rabbitohs 0.
Fixture R4: Truganina v Pakenham, Waverley v Casey, Sunshine v Eastern.
