Top of the table Whittlesea were back at the showgrounds on Saturday to face fourth placed St Mary’s for the second time this season.
The Eagles showed they meant business booting six consecutive goals to set the pace of the game. It was not until the closing stages of the quarter that St Mary’s managed to put a score on the board.
The Eagles looked like they would have had no problem taking care of the challengers at the first break.
The second term however looked like a different story with both sides trading goal for goal in the low scoring quarter. However, the main break saw the scoreboard at 53 to 29 points giving the Eagles a comfortable lead.
It looked like the Eagles were set to keep up the tradition established this season of booting a total close to 100 points.
Riley Powell, hot off his six goal achievement last week, and Lucas Hobbs were multiple goal scorers with Blake Watson, Mitchell Andrews, Paul Higgins, Jack Taylor and Clancy Bland were also solid contributors.
The third term was a different story with St Mary’s booting five goals to Whittlesea’s one and there were more shocks to come.
By the third break St Mary’s had slashed the Eagles lead to just two points. The 9.9 (63) to 9.7 (61) on the scoreboard gave Gary Ramsay and his coaching team due cause for concern.
The final term kicked off and by four minutes in St Mary’s had levelled the scores. It was not until 10 minutes into the quarter when a goals from Lucas Hobbs gave the Eagles the boost they needed.
Two minutes later Xavier Dimasi added to the Eagles tally. Max Dyson, Lucas Hobbs and Clancy Bland also rallied to boost the Whittlesea score.
The Eagles defence also played a starring role in keeping St Mary’s goalless. Pressure in the back line allowed St Mary’s only four behinds for the quarter.
The final siren saw the Eagles keep a firm hold on the top spot in the 6.10 (106) to 9. 10 (64) result. The Eagles now sit two games clear of Diamond Creek and South Morang on the ladder.
Best for Whittlesea were Taidhg Bland, Lucas Hobbs, Blake Watson, Xavier Dimasi, Clancy Bland and Deakin Tennant.
The Eagles Senior Women’s team were at the well attended Touch of Pink breast cancer fundraiser that was held during the game at the Showgrounds on Saturday. Next week’s Whittlesea Review will have pictures and a complete report on the event.
No win for Laurimar
Laurimar clashed with Lower Plenty is a high scoring high pressure game that showed all the hallmarks of their round two meet.
It was raining goals for Laurimar in the first term giving the Power a comfortable 17 point lead. Jai Langford and Jasper Collins were multiple goals scorers for the Power.
But Lower Plenty was not ready to surrender and at the main break had taken the lead from the Power to lead by 11 points.
Sadly, for the Power the trend was to continue with Lower Plenty extending their lead to 21 points at the end of the third term.
Laurimar came back strongly with four goals to one in the oping minutes of the final term. However, this was not enough to take the game from South Morang with the final score 15.15 (105) to Laurimar’s 14.9 (93)
At the close of round 11, the Power has just one win, giving the side a challenging remainder of the season.
Mernda gains top spot
Mernda took care of third placed Old Paradians at the weekend in a clash that saw a rearranging of the top ladder positions.
Mernda now shares the top spots with the Fitzroy Stars and Old Paradians – all with 32 premiership points. Mernda’s impressive percentage of 169 per cent has cemented the side in top spot
Mernda outscored the opposition four goals to two in the opening break and as quarter drew to a close, solid pressure saw both sides restricted to behinds.
Goals were scarce in the second term with both sides booting just two each, giving Mernda a narrow two goal lead at the main break.
Bryce Kimuliatis and Mathew Bawden booted three goals each for Mernda and were instrumental in their side’s victory in the 11.12 (78) to 7.8 (50) result.
Best for Mernda were Kai Turner, Josh Mazzarella, Jayden Bell, Lachlan Taylor, Lincoln Coffey and Jake Bennett.
