TRIUMPH fortified the Tea Gardens Hawks’ ladder position as they ground the Aberglasslyn Ants underfoot in the latest home-game thriller at Myall Park on Saturday 15 July.

A dubious knock-on from the kick-off proved irrelevant as the Hawks defence was impenetrable, repelling several early Aberglasslyn attempts, even covering some wider passes.

Aiden Bills burst from the 10m-line fray to run the whole 90 metres and dive between the posts for the Hawks’ first try, followed by a simple conversion to Shaqueil Saunders.

A placement kick dropped near Aberglasslyn’s defender, but its backward bounce delivered it to a sprinting Saunders, who bypassed the flabbergasted back to score and easily convert his own try.

Hawks’ defence held fast, as Ben Woolard drove one attacker over the sideline, then teamwork saved potential tries along their backline.

Alex Sinclair took the ball from the rough-and-tumble up in the far-left corner, then dove across the line to score a triumphant comeback try.

Minutes into the second half, Zac Atkins scored for the Hawks, but Aberglasslyn also managed to get on the board.

The tone of play deteriorated with some juvenile face-pushing by Aberglasslyn, leading to a Hawks’ penalty scrum just 30m out, after which Bills streaked in like lighting, and grounded it just behind the uprights, converted by Saunders.

Bills struck again minutes later, and nearly again after a few minutes more, brought down by a questionably high tackle.

Shaq Saunders scored again (and converted his own), making Aberglasslyn’s despair palpable.

One dangerous collision left a player from each side prone, but both were thankfully walked off.

Aberglasslyn got their consolation try around the 70th minute, but on-field attitudes turned diabolically dirtier, as fisty-cuffs broke out just metres from the live ball.

Bills’ fourth try of the game then placed him atop the current try-scorer’s ladder for the competition, at the time of writing.

The final score was 42-10.

By Thomas O’KEEFE