Waterford Demons survived a scare at WJ Scott Park on Saturday to defeat a resilient Easts Juniors 38-14 in the Rugby League Brisbane Southside 1 competition.
A gallant but under-strength Tigers scored three quick tries throughout the middle portion of the game which cut the margin down to just two-points, but the Demons were simply too big and strong as they pulled away in the last quarter of the game.
Two tries to Waterford winger Nicholas Mullins within the first 10 minutes had the Demons zipping away too an early 10-0 lead.
This was followed up in the 23rd minute, when outstanding Waterford halfback Zach Hamilton stepped his way through some flimsy Tigers defence to further increase the lead for the visitors.
Staring at a 16-0 deficit, the Tigers began clawing back the lead through inspirational hooker Seb Martinez.
The Columbian international lunged over from dummy half to finally get the Tigers on the board, before a Demons error presented an opportunity for his second try right on the halftime hooter.
The Tigers steamed out of the sheds in the second half, wasting no time in adding more points early on through brilliant five-eighth Jeremy Jones, who scored a sensational solo try.
But the Demons were out to consolidate a spot in the top four and that’s exactly what they managed to do.
After the Tigers had given the Demons a scare, the visitors turned it up a notch and capitalised on the tired Tigers defence.
Demons fullback Shaun-De Lifu-Bray dazzled with some fancy footwork to run around his opposite number and race away to score.
Eli Kahu was then put through a yawning gap by Hamilton, who simply bamboozled his opposite number to race in for a superb Demons try in the 53rd minute.
The visitors were superbly led by towering brothers Jake and Kurt Sparey who were near unstoppable.
The Tigers tried to add some spark in the later stages of the game through hard working halfback Ethan Unicomb, however Waterford were having none of it.
The Demons unleashed powerhouse replacement Jorge Faágase off the bench who ran a perfect line to crash over in the corner.
Izayah Nuku would seal the Tigers fate on home soil with a late try in the 60th minute, when Hamilton again delivered a superb pass to see the Demons walk away with the crucial two points.
