The Queanbeyan Whites have hit the ground running on the road to the John I Dent Cup with a convincing 26 to 8 victory over the Gungahlin Eagles, on Saturday, at David Campese Oval.
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Fierce pressure from both teams made for a close first half of footy, until standout back rower, OJ Noa, scored a breakthrough try, with a conversion from Maligi Finau, to get momentum flowing for Queanbeyan.
Royals import Soakai Tai followed suit soon after Noa to put the Whites up 12 to 0 at half time.
Gungahlin had an early penalty goal and a try and conversion shortly after to heat things up in the second half.
At 12 to 8 it looked like the Eagles were on track for a comeback victory, both teams looked evenly matched once again until Queanbeyan's Noa once again found a gap in the Gungahlin defence and strolled in for an easy try in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Strong defence kept the Eagles at bay and the home ground atmosphere was still tense until Tai scored an easy try late in the half to take Queanbeyan to an 18-point victory.
Whites coach Adam Fahey said he is not concerned with the close competition early in the match and was overall happy with their performance.
"It was very tough and both teams were very willing early on," he said.
"But once we stuck to our plan we gained some territory and we were lucky enough to get the bonus point win.
"I thought we played very well, our defence was very good, we scrambled very well and our execution is only going to improve.
"Overall I'm happy with how we're tracking.
"It was a great day for the club, winning in all grades, it really shows character."
Debutant Karl Elliot held his own and was not afraid to get in the faces of Gungahlin - he was forced off the field to change his guernsey after putting his body on the line resulting in a deep head gash in the first half.
Fahey said Elliot, half back Mitch Douch and Noa were cruicial for the Whites.
"I was very happy with how Karl Elliot played, he did well," he said.
"OJ Noa was excellent, so was Mitch Douch."
Captain Dan Penca was sidelined for the Eagles clash with a calf injury, but Fahey is confident the experienced flanker will be back to face the Royals at home on Saturday.
"He should be back (for Saturday) and obviously he's captain for a reason, so he should help to lead the boys," he said.
"It should be tough this weekend, we'll have to get everything in order, make a plan and if we can execute like I know we can we'll be alright."
