Swifts giant brushes Eagles aside

GIANT Swifts prop Stanley Fau has inspired his team to the Ipswich Rugby League A-grade minor premiership with a 10-minute burst where he was close to unstoppable.

Swifts were awarded their first IRL minor premiership crown in more than a decade when they defeated the Goodna Eagles 36-32 at Purga yesterday.

Fau, who tips the scales at well over 130 kilograms, came to the fore in the second half with Swifts down by 10 points.

Fau ate up metres through the middle of the field every time he touched the ball.

His team-mates capitalised, scoring three unanswered tries to snatch the lead and seal a rematch with Goodna this weekend in the first round of the finals.

Under-18 player Josh Seage had a great match in A Grade playing in the second row.

Swifts coach Wayne Finch said Seage was NRL-bound.

“He’s the best under-18 (player) in the competition,” Finch said.

“I don’t know if any NRL clubs are looking at him but they should be because he’s a quality player.

“He doesn’t miss a tackle and he has footwork at the line.”

Goodna coach Anthony Fowler made a return to the IRL playing field and had a mixed game.

Goodna dominated the first half of the match with dual international Andrew Walker scoring two impressive tries.

But fatigue stopped the Eagles in their tracks in the second half and as they began to fall off tackles, Fau stood tall.

The winner of this week’s Swifts versus Goodna match will advance to the grand final.

The loser of that match will player the winner of this weekend’s elimination final between Brothers and Fassifern.