THE Hawks Women’s Tackle team took on the undefeated Lakes United Seagulls at Myall Park on Saturday 15 June.

Early on, the Seagulls women exhibited why they are top of the ladder, scoring the first try in the right hand corner.

As it happened, the Seagulls fell upon a clever tactic to clear the Hawks’ defensive lines, which became all too evident after the next few tries.

Put simply, once the Seagulls gained possession of the ball, they headed off to the left wing, then quickly passed off, over to the right, exploiting the wide gap left in the Hawks’ defence.

As pointed out by Hawks’ coach/captain Dallas at halftime, her team’s propensity to commit too many players to tackles was also causing the Hawks to cluster, and the Seagulls’ wide passing and superior speed meant they could capitalise on gaps more quickly than the Hawks could regroup.

Dallas implored the Hawks to hold their line in defence, and move up as one line when on the attack, but it took a few more tries by the Seagulls for the orders to be acted upon.

There was a glimmer of hope as the Hawks managed to stop another Seagull attack on the fifth tackle, took possession in their own right, but could not get the ball back past halfway.

The ball became like a basket of fish and chips, with onslaught after onslaught by the Seagulls leading to a 60-0 mercy ruling with twelve minutes to go.

The outcome of the game was a greater need to focus on core attributes, including fitness and tactics, and, hopefully, the women will hold the line for another victory next week.

By Thomas O’KEEFE