A four-try haul from skipper Ben Johnston has saved Royals from John I Dent Cup disaster after Canberra rugby cellar dwellars Easts almost caused the biggest upset of the year on Saturday.
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Royals are still alive in their bid to defend their premiership, but they got an unexpected scare from a fired-up Easts side trying to avoid a win-less season.
The defiant Easts line-up had Royals on the ropes but couldn't find a killer blow as the Phillip-based side held on for a 39-20 triumph at Griffith Oval.
The 19-point margin suggests Royals cruised to a comfortable win, but their finals hopes almost went up in flames when Easts prop Charlie Abel scored to cut the gap to five with time running out.
Easts went into the match with a points differential of -416 after leaking 569 points in 12 games this year, and no one expected them to challenge Royals.
But the struggling club, which has battled to win any games in recent years, refused to roll over and if it wasn't for Johnston's try-scoring heroics, Easts sent the competition into meltdown.
The loss means Easts need to beat Wests next week to ensure they don't finish their season without a win.
"We're capable of it, we've just got to turn up with a bit of belief," coach John Ross said.
"That's half the battle. This club hasn't won a premiership since 1947, I remember when I was playing that we touched them up as well.
"They've been getting beaten forever so it's almost like it's ingrained in them. It's a challenge to turn that around, but we've got a good group of people and we're taking the right steps forward."
To put Easts' turnaround in perspective, they were beaten 86-0 by the Tuggeranong Vikings last week and their year appeared doomed.
But the result against Royals has given them hope they can challenge Wests in the last game of the regular season and lay down a building block for future years.
The result sees Royals jump back into the top four, overtaking the Uni-Norths Owls, who fell to the Queanbeyan Whites 45-24 at Campese Field.
It means Royals can lock up a finals berth if they beat the Tuggeranong Vikings next week in a rematch of last year's grand final, but the Owls can sneak back into a play-off position if they topple the Gungahlin Eagles.
Royals scored three tries in the first 15 minutes against Easts and Johnston iced the result with two tries in the last 15 minutes.
The veteran fullback is confident Royals can challenge for back-to-back premierships if they can book their ticket to the finals.
"They did give us a scare, it's always like that against them when they get a sniff," Johnston said.
"Looking forward, we're back in the four and I've got every confidence the boys can get the job done and keep moving in the right direction.
"Absolutely [there's confidence], our belief is there as well but we haven't had it together for 80 minutes. It's similar to our story from the last few years, but we just need to get into the finals and it's a new ball game from there."
AT A GLANCE
John I Dent Cup: ROYALS 39 (B Johnston 4, S Going 2 tries; P Rolando 3 conversions, penalty) bt EASTS 20 (J Douglas, C Abel, J Angelatos, G Pretorius tries); QUEANBEYAN WHITES 45 bt UNI-NORTHS OWLS 24; GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 40 bt WESTS 19.
Second grade: ROYALS 22 bt EASTS 10, QUEANBEYAN WHITES 10 bt UNI-NORTHS OWLS 9, GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 36 bt WESTS 0.
Women's: TUGGERANONG VIQUEENS 87 bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 5
Colts: ROYALS 20 bt EASTS 0, QUEANBEYAN WHITES 20 bt UNI-NORTHS OWLS 17.
First division
First grade: Uni-Norths Owls 31 bt Queanbeyan Whites 12, Royals 66 bt Easts 18, Gungahlin Eagles 74 bt Wests 5, Goulburn 47 bt Young 10, Tuggeranong Vikings 31 bt Hall 14, Cooma 20 bt ADFA 0.
Second grade: Queanbeyan Whites 47 bt Uni-Norths Owls 19, Wests 48 bt Gungahlin Eagles 21, , Young 55 bt Goulburn 21, Tuggereanong Vikings 63 bt Hall 19, Cooma 20 bt ADFA 0.
