The intense battle between the Arorangi Bears and the Avatiu Eels in week three of the Cook Islands Rugby League (CIRL) men’s premiership thrilled the good crowd of fans.

The Bears hosted the premiership on Saturday at Raemaru Park supported by their Puaikura drummers who brought a wonderful vibe to the event boosting team morale when scoring tries and also entertaining spectators.

Although the Eels were down in the second half they are a team never to underestimate. They slipped through the Bear’s defence and also managed a runaway try increasing their points.

However, the close encounter ended with the Bears managing to hold onto their lead winning the game on home ground 24-22.

Bears captain Robert Heather was excited and proud of his boys and particularly to win at a home game.

In an interview with CIRL Heather said this year the competition has been really good and there are no easy teams.

He said they had a tough start in the first two weeks and he could feel the morale drop.

“With the win I think we got a good momentum… Hopefully that continues and we can keep building up.”

Heather said their main goal this week was to build up again the atmosphere at Raemaru Park, their home ground.

“Thanks to the drummers and the fans for bringing the vibe here without your support we wouldn’t have felt the same excitement like we did today.”

Avatiu Eels captain Josh Motu said although they did not get the results they wanted he was happy the boys stuck through the match until the final whistle.

“We were down some points in the last half and we managed to raise our score… it’s the little things, the penalties and not getting our kicks. We appreciate the fans,” Motu said.

In the Ngatangiia Matavera Sea Eagles vs Takuvaine Warriors premier match, the Eagles thumped the persistent Warriors 64-12.

Warriors captain Perry Ioane acknowledged their supporters for their help in rebuilding their club.

“We’re coming up slowly… I felt it was very confusing for the boys so we need to go back to the field and learn from our mistakes,” Ioane said.

“Thank you to Takuvaine and Tutakimoa supporters for coming to support our team, thank you,” he added.

Men's Premiership Match Week 3 results: Ngatangiia Matavera Sea Eagles 64 vs Takuvaine Warriors 12; Arorangi Bears 24 vs Avatiu Eels 22. Women's Exhibition Match: Blue Team 22 vs Red Team 20.