The Pennant Hills Demons have again proved to be the nemesis of the East Coast Eagles. After defeating the Eagles in last years grand final the Demons again spoilt the celebrations on "Back to Baulko Day".

It all started to go wrong for the Eagles before the first bounce when key playmaker and assistant coach Jason Coulloupas dislocated his finger in the warm up and it would not go back into place. He was rushed to hospital and took no further place in the game. This setback and the run and precision of the skills of the Pennant Hills players proved far too much on the day for the Eagles.

In an uncharacteristic display by the Eagles their disposal let them down time and time again and this allowed the leg speed of the Demons to take over and they ran the Eagles off their legs. The Demons showed much better poise and greater execution levels all day and they ran out convincing 35 point winners. The final scoreboard reading Pennant Hills 15 18 108 to the Eagles 10 13 73.

In a well beaten team, Ryan Fitton again displayed the excellent form he has shown all season. He was one of few shining lights on a dark day for the team. Ryan Smyth also was a valuable contributor in all four quarters and Gus Seebeck put in a valiant display in the ruck. It is the first loss for the team for season 2007 and the team will certainly work hard on the track again this week and look to bounce back against North Shore this week.

The outstanding display on the day was the Reserve grade side. Up against the previously unbeaten Pennant Hills side the reserve grade team played champagne football and ran out winners by 119 points. It was a display which will send shivers down the spine of all other reserve grade sides and after two great wins in a row there are several players pushing to play in the senior side. In a great team effort there were outstanding performances by Tim Physick in defence and Stephen Bilkey was great up front and finished with six goals on the day. Jared Patira kicked another five goals and young Andrew Polkinghorne and Damien Gatte were also strong performers. The finals core read East Coast 21 14 140 to the Demons 3 3 21. The reserve grade team continues to get better with each week and first year coach Jason Duss should be extremely excited about the way the team is developing.

The Under 18 Premier Cup team went down to the second placed team in Pennant Hills. After leading by 19 points at half time the Eagles could not hang on and the Demons ran over the top of the Eagles and ran out winners by 18 points. After only winning one game last season they once again showed they are capable of mixing it with the top teams. It is only round six and with further development the team will continue to get better. Michael Craigie and Daniel Spiteri were outstanding for the Eagles all day. Final scores were Pennant Hills 11 17 83 to East Coast 10 5 65.

The Under 18 Challenge Cup team played the boys from the Southern Sharks and again had more scoring shots than the opposition but failed to get across the line and went down by 28 points. Scott Lear and Scott Pierce led by example all day. The score was the Sharks 11 7 73 to the Eagles 5 15 45.

Next Saturday night East Coast takes on North Shore at Henson Park under lights at 6.30pm. Reserve grade starts at 4.30pm and the Under 18’s start the day at 2.30pm. The Challenge Cup boys take on Manly at Manly on Saturday at 10.00am.