YARRAVILLE-SEDDON holds down first, then it’s daylight second in a Western Region Football League division 2 competition that’s fast turning into a one-horse race.
The Eagles showed how far they are ahead of the chasing pack on Saturday with a 62-point rout of second-placed Parkside at Henry Turner Reserve.
Not even an unsettled preparation could stop the Eagles from running away with the game in a stunning six-goals-to-nil opening term.
One goal is all the Magpies could muster in a one-sided first half and after that the result was a formality.
“We had a pretty big focus right through the start of the week on having a good start to the game and trying to put a bit of doubt in their minds straight away,” Eagles coach David Connell told the Weekly.
“Things weren’t normal. The reserves game got called off early and it changed the whole preparation for both sides.
“So for us to come out and kick into a three-goal wind in the first quarter and kick six goals to nothing, it was pretty telling.”
The pre-game mayhem didn’t take Eagles players’ minds off the job.
Connell went so far as to rate it his side’s best 30 minutes of football for the season.
The Eagles withstood a physical barrage around the stoppages with Shane Barry, Andrew Willis, Beau Guest and James Laverde flexing their collective muscle.
The breeze was also blowing into their faces, but first use of the ball meant the Magpies could manage only five inside 50s in the first term.
“The first quarter was probably the best footy we’ve played all year,” Connell said. “I haven’t seen us play as good as we have in that first quarter.
“Everything we wanted to do worked. The boys were copping a fairly physical onslaught from Parkside, which no one else has done to this point against us and, dare I say, they were trying something different to see how we would respond to it, and for us to step up was telling.”
The Eagles are so damaging because of the multitude of avenues they have to goal. Stop one forward and another bobs up.
Three Eagles – Sherif Mohamed (53), Adam Baker (51) and Jason Harmes (48) – are perched in the top five of the leading goalkickers. Michael Volpi would probably have been a fourth but for an injury back in round seven.
Adding to the embarrassment of riches, Corey Thomas, a full-forward in most other sides, is now playing deeper in the forward line since the Volpi injury. The result? Thomas boots four goals on the weekend.
On Saturday, arguably the two most important Eagles did not even get among the goals.
Baker and Clinton Foreman worked in tandem across half-forward to provide a conduit between the midfield and attack for stunning results.
Mohamed, a wise old head inside attacking 50, finished with five goals.
With a two-game and percentage break, the Eagles have the chance to manage how much game time their stars get in the month leading to finals.
