In wet and greasy conditions, the Heelers were looking to keep their undefeated season intact, after three solid wins from three in 2016.

From the outset of the match, the Muswellbrook forwards were out to dominate, with inroads laid early by Harry Hobden and Ben Heriot and solid set pieces.

Unfortunately, a knee injury early in the fixture to captain Heriot ruled him out for the rest of the encounter after landing awkwardly in the ruck.

This turned the game into a defensive tussle between both sides, with the Eagles camped in the Heelers half for the next 10 minutes, throwing a barrage of forwards at the Muswellbrook pack.

However, the visitors’ line kept their composure and was able to hold out the East Maitland onslaught.

Through pressure and some solid defence, the Eagles turned over possession and the Heelers began their march up the field. 

Fullback Dan Keating and fly half Cameron Young were instrumental in steering the Muswellbrook pack.

Once the Heelers applied pressure, and with the injection of coach Michael Hall to the fold, it didn’t take long for the East Maitland defence to crack. 

Some fancy backline play from Keating and a perfectly-timed pass from Cameron Huggins allowed Kurt Everingham to dart away to score under the posts, which was converted by Young to give Muswellbrook a 7-0 lead.

The second half began as the first finished with a mix-mash of handling errors and solid defence from the Heelers.

This forced the Eagles to kick away possession.

Keating began to attack with darting runs and accurate kicking to continually put pressure on East Maitland.

The score remained at 7-0 for a large proportion of the half due to poor ball handling.

And, it wasn’t until late in the second period the Heelers were able to strike again.

A strong 45m run from a determined Harry Hobden, leading from the front, gave Muswellbrook good attacking field position.

The Heelers forwards hammered the Eagles defence, leading to a slick inside ball to centre Jeb Hardy who scored a try which was once again converted by Young. 

The score was now 14-0 Muswellbrook’s way.

With the Eagles attack beginning to tire, the Heelers exploited their defence to score their final try on full0time with the Fijian flyer Ratunaisa Katonatuba scoring in the right hand corner.

Katonatuba had been sniffing around the rucks looking for ball all afternoon and was more than deserving of the five-pointer.

The final score was 19-0 – and the victory made it four in a row for the Heelers.

“We are happy with the result,” Hall said.

“We won a scrappy game and ground it out without points being scored against us.”

Points went to Tyler Judge (1), Hobden (2) and Keating (3).

Keating also claimed the players’ player award for his attacking flare and safe hands under some testing pressure by the Eagles aerial threat.

The Heelers may face stiffer opposition next when they get some Friday night rugby against Singleton Army at Rugby Park, Singleton, at 7pm.