Group 16 will have to make a judgement on the result of the Eden Tigers and Tathra Sea Eagles game after a fault with field lights forced play to be abandoned.
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The first grade match on May 27 at George Brown Memorial Sports Ground in Eden was abandoned 18 minutes into the second half after the lights went out and conditions were deemed too dangerous to continue.
The issue was believed to have been from the ground's fuse box, leaving contention around the official result of the game.
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Eden was leading the match when the lights went out, up 22-12 against the undefeated and top-of-the-ladder Tathra side.
While the result is up on the Group 16 website as 22-12, fulltime, the ladder is yet to be updated to reflect a win for Eden or loss for Tathra.
A spokesperson for the Tathra Sea Eagles said the club believed a win for Eden shouldn't stand, with their side only trailing by ten points in a game they had described as a "physical battle".
"The referee never called time, and Eden changed the result to a win," the Sea Eagle's spokesperson said.
"We're disputing the win, saying there was 22 minutes left of the game and it was still a fair contest."
The club have sent an official letter to Group 16 and are currently awaiting a response.
"We want this to be fair," the spokesperson said.
"If it was a blowout we would've understood, but it was a close game."
The Eden Tigers captain, Adrian Purtell said the side would wait and see what decision was made by Group 16 regarding the result.
"There's some discussion with the group at the moment and hopefully we know by this afternoon what happens with the result," Purtell said on May 29. However as of May 30, no result has been confirmed.
Purtell declined to comment on whether Eden had claimed a victory, as Tathra's spokesperson said, and said "we'll wait until we see the result".
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It had been an impressive showing in the first half from Eden according to Purtell, with the Tigers going into the half up 22-12, thanks to four first-half tries including one of his own.
"I thought it was our best game so far this year," he said.
"We've still got a lot to improve on but we definitely showed signs of what we're capable of if we hold on to the footy.
"There's still plenty of improvement in us too."
If the result is determined as a win for Eden, it would be Tathra's first loss of the season and would see the Sea Eagles tied on points with the Merimbula Pambula Bulldogs, setting up a pivotal clash between the two sides this Saturday, June 3, in Tathra.
Group 16 have been approached for comment.
More to come.
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Sam Armes
Journalist reporting for the Bega District News and surrounds. Reach out about potential stories at sam.armes@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Journalist reporting for the Bega District News and surrounds. Reach out about potential stories at sam.armes@austcommunitymedia.com.au
