Eden, Bega Anzac round clash halted due to injury

After leading the Bega Roosters 34 to 12 at half time, the Eden Tigers stacked on another 22 points before the injury halted the remainder of the game in the Group 16 Anzac round.

After a tackle by one of the Eden players, it's understood the Roosters player was knocked out and remained unconscious for a number of minutes.

An ambulance took him to Bega's South East Regional Hospital for overnight observation.

The Tigers player was sent off and said to be visibly distraught following the tackle.

The tackle was to be reviewed by the Group 16 judiciary, which would be determining any charges.

Eden Tigers player Harrison Baker said he was on the left hand side of the field at the time of the incident, and said the player was doing alright now, but at the time the game had to be stopped and an ambulance called.

"He goes out there to play hard, he doesn't go out to intentionally knock people out or hurt anyone," Baker said of his team-mate.

"He was so remorseful."

As the game was well into the second half when the incident occurred, it's understood the result will stand, with Eden winning the game 56-12.

"I think [as a team] we went pretty well," Baker said.

"Our defence was a lot better than it has been, I think Bega were just running out of troops by the end of it.

"There were a few boys coming off with niggles and they were on the back foot most of the game, so they had a lot more work to do defensively.

"When you're defending set after set, it does get pretty hard."

New Zealand import James Witehira said he had been loving it on the coast with all the country towns that love their footy.

The 24-year-old Kiwi from Whananaki was messaged on Facebook by the Eden Tigers coach and jumped at the opportunity to join the team for the 2024 season.

"[The weekend] was an awesome day for the club, right from young grades and it was our first home game, so to see the whole community get around it was awesome. The whole town is crazy welcoming," Witehira said.

The Eden Tigers had a jersey auction at the completion of the match.

Their Anzac jerseys were designed to show the distinctive shape of the Rising Sun badge which identified the spirit of the Anzac, silhouettes of soldiers, a cross, red poppy on the base of the red V, and Australian and NZ flags on the sleeves.

Meanwhile, in other round three first grade games, Cooma Stallions won 36 to 18 over Bombala Blue Heelers at Cooma Showground; Snowy River Bears won 30 to 20 over Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs at Jindabyne's JJ Connors Oval; and Tathra Sea Eagles won 36 to 20 over Batemans Bay Tigers at Tathra Country Club.

The Eden Tigers were also too good for Bega in reserve grade, winning 20-4, while the Tathra Sea Eagles romped home over Batemans Bay 58-0, and the Bulldogs reserves defeated Snowy River 44-16.

In the women's league-tag games, Bombala High Heelers defeated the Cooma Fillies 42-6 and the Eden Tgerettes and Bega Chicks played out a 10-all draw.

Tathra snared the points thanks to a forfeit by Merimbula-Pambula.