Round 10 Eagles v Glenelg Match Report

A strong performance this week has seen us lock in a finals spot with one minor round remaining. Whilst this is a great reward for a lot of hard work from everyone involved in our program, we are fully aware that the job is far from done if we want to reach our goals.

This week saw us welcome back Ebony Marinoff, who along with Caitlin Gould, have yellow and black running through their veins and love pulling on our great guernsey.

As expected, the first quarter was a tight contest. Some excellent pressure from Jess Searle resulted in a Madi Freeman goal within the first few minutes after a string of possessions to get the ball forward. A dour struggle proceeded for most of the quarter before Chelsea Packer snapped a goal from the pocket on the back of some great team pressure at a boundary throw in. We headed to the first break with a 13 point lead.

The second quarter was more of an arm wrestle as the Eagles pressure around the ball lifted and we struggled to adjust. Captain Ellie Kellock kicked our only goal for the quarter from a free kick at a forward 50 stoppage. We headed into the half time break with a 19 point lead.

The half time break allowed us to highlight areas that we were doing well, but more importantly make some adjustments to some areas that were below the standard we expect from ourselves. Our squad is very hungry and determined to be the best we can be, so it is not surprising that the team, guided by our leaders, responded accordingly in the third quarter. Two goals to Meara Girvan and goals to Sam Franson and Caitlin Gould saw us take a 45 point lead into the three quarter time break.

The challenge to the players at the last break was for them to determine how we wanted to finish the game. Would we just cruise to the finish line or continue to play Bays Footy. Pleasingly it was the latter, with two goals to Madi Freeman, a goal to Caitlyn Swanson and another goal to Ellie Kellock. We finished the game with a strong 68 point win.

As always, our back line was great all game. The midfield all contributed strongly throughout the game. As a result the forward line benefitted significantly and to their credit, the forwards simply played their roles to allow the forward line to function well.

It was a week of breaking records for our women. 72 points is the highest score we have ever scored and the highest score by any team for the season so far. Six wins and a draw is the most our women have ever had and it is the first time our women have won four games in a row. For the second time in our short history we will participate in the finals. We are now clear by a game and a good amount of percentage in second spot on the ladder, but we need to finish off the minor round strongly if we want to confirm a top two spot, secure the second chance and take some momentum into finals.

This week is our final minor round game for the season as we take on Central District at 12:15pm Saturday 15^th May at ACH Group Stadium. The Dogs are hunting a finals spot, so we expect and will prepare for another tough battle.

– Jason Fairall, Senior Coach

Goals: Madi Freeman (3), Ellie Kellock (2), Meara Girvan (2), Chelsea Packer (1), Sam Franson (1), Caitlin Gould (1), Caitlyn Swanson (1)

Best: Tessa Kohn, Ebony Marinoff , Caitlin Gould, Meara Girvan, Ellie Kellock, Brooke Tonon, Jess Bates, Madi Freeman, Piper Window, Sheridan Howell, Chelsea Packer, Grace Duffy