Saturday’s top of the table clash saw the Eagles unbeaten run in season 2024 come to an end in a tightly fought game against Diamond Creek.
As predicted, it was a Grand Final preview when unbeaten Whittlesea and second-placed Diamond Creek battled at Coventry Oval.
The Eagles welcomed Lucas Hobbs, Matt Coen, Luke Deards, and Cody Bunworth back into the side in a result that saw Whittlesea remain four points clear as ladder leaders ahead of Diamond Creek, with Minor Premiership waiting on next week’s result.
Clearly, the Eagles missed Riley Powell, who along with Oscar Parkinson, Jack Taylor, and Blake Watson were out for round 17.
Diamond Creek came hot into the contest, coming off a seven game winning after a thumping 41-point win over Lower Plenty.
It was clear from the start that it was going to be a tightly contested game with only three goals posted in the first term – two to Whittlesea and one to Diamond Creek.
The second term was just as tight with the Eagles holding on to a seven-point lead at the main break.
Term three proved challenging for the Eagles with only one behind on the board, resulting in a one-point lead to Diamond Creek. The final term was pretty much the same with Diamond Creek dominating the scoreboard with five shots to the Eagles’ two.
The final score saw the Eagles finish their unbeaten run, 6.4 (40) to Diamond Creek’s 6.13 (49).
Next week, the Eagles take on seventh placed Northcote Park, while Diamond Creek faces third placed South Morang in a thrilling end to the 2024 home and away season.
Tight game for Laurimar
For only the second time since 2018, Laurimar faced off against St Mary’s in a challenging and high scoring game.
Laurimar bounced back from a 21-point deficit at quarter time to a five-point lead at the main break, giving fans the hope of a win for the Power.
Sadly, this was not to be despite a zero scoring third term and a highly competitive final quarter. Scores at the final siren saw the Power go down by 15 points – 10.4 (64) St Mary’s 11.13 (79).
Best for Laurimar were Josh Leather, Joel Lawson, Nathan Andrews, Wade Spooner, Ethan Bateman, and Joshua Campbell.
Solid win for Mernda
In its final home and away game for the season, Mernda scored a convincing win against Ivanhoe and in doing so grabbed third spot, and a place in the finals.
Mernda and Ivanhoe were both without key players, with Joshua Mazzarella out for Mernda and Ben Ernst out for Ivanhoe.
Mernda took the lead in an inspiring performance from the opening siren and never looked threatened, finishing the match 14.12 (96) to defeat Ivanhoe 5.9 (39).
Brent Marshall, Billy Morrison, Matthew Bawden and Kai Turner.
