Tathra and Bega players embodied the spirit of the Anzacs as they fought their way through a tough game, which saw the Sea Eagles glide to a 141-63 victory in front of a packed crowd at Lawrence Park.

Tathra donned a new once-off special Anzac Day kit, which was presented to them after their local Anzac Day service.

Tathra captain/player Ryan O’Loghlin said it was this uniform and the spirit of the day that contributed to his team’s fire power.

“The ball was a lot cleaner in our hands, we ran the game out a lot better, and in defence, last week they got 20 against us and this week it was 10, so that made a pretty big difference,” he said.

Bega coach Chris Dwyer said it was always special to play on Anzac Day.

“It made for a long day, but it was a really good experience to play on Anzac Day, and the big crowd there made it good,” he said.

Umpires awarded Tathra’s Jason Ainsworth with the Anzac Medal for being best on ground, an accolade Dwyer said was well deserved.

“He was the best by a long way. He was skilled all day, won the clearances and got the ball forward further,” he said.

O’Loghlin agreed.

“He is probably in a different league of football than a lot of people on our competition,” he said.

Dwyer praised how his team performed in the first quarter, but said in the end Tathra was just too experienced for his Bombers.

“In the next three quarters Tathra really flexed their muscles and showed that they are a genuine contender for the title this year,” he said.

The teams were neck and neck in the first quarter with four goals to Bega and six goals to Tathra taking the score to 43-26 going into the second quarter.

Bega experienced a slump in the second and third quarters, only managing two more goals, whereas Tathra took full advantage to kick eight more goals and balloon the score to 98-39 with one quarter to play.

There was no stopping the Sea Eagles’ momentum in the fourth with another seven goals squashing any attempts Bega made to lessen the final 141-63 scoreline.

Dwyer said when his team his team went forward they looked good in patches, but he struggled to find positives out of a 78-point loss.

“We did have some standout individual performances though by Scott Munday and Dylan Wallace,” he said.

“Scott played on Brad McBain, who is the best forward going round in this competition.

“Dylan was in the ruck all day and played his first game for Bega, and gave us taps all day.”

Dwyer also praised the efforts of Bega’s club captain Scott Hay.

Best on field for Tathra were Ainsworth, Adam McBain, Noah Martyn, Will Dickinson and Mitch O’Loghlin.

Despite the win, O’Loghlin said there was still improvement to be made.

“It is only week two so there is plenty to work on, but you only get better as the year goes on,” he said.

“Once we start to get some new players in it will only strengthen the squad.”

After the match the two teams stayed back to watch the televised Collingwood and Essendon AFL match.

“Tathra are really good with their hospitality towards us,” Dwyer added.

Next round Bega will face Narooma at home and Tathra will play host to Pambula.

O’Loghlin said Tathra has set Pambula as the benchmark for the competition, however “anything could happen,” he said.

“We are going to be hard pressed, but will go into it confident as always.”