In one of the more enthralling finals for several years, the Eagles stood strong in the last quarter to withstand a determined Bulldogs running out winners by 10-points.
The victory was set up in the first quarter when the Dogs failed to score a goal, while watching the Eagles rattle on 4 unanswered, albeit with the aid of a slight breeze. The Eagles seemed more switched on from the first contest and dominated possession. CAFL Best and Fairest, Richie Hazlewood was everywhere and he picked off anything that looked like a Dogs attacking move. It looked like the Dogs were going to be outclassed and in for a torrid afternoon. To their credit, they managed to dig deep in the second quarter and with Sullivan running riot all over the ground, there was plenty of supply for ace forward Dale Stevenson, who kicked truly when given an opportunity in front of the sticks. Suddenly it was the dogs winning the contested ball. Their superior ball movement meant that the Eagles could not exploit their aerial marking advantage. When the half time siren blew, there were only 2-points separating the sides.
The Eagles had use of a dying breeze in the third quarter and used it to extend their lead to 11-points. This was assisted by some woeful kicking out of defence by the Bulldogs defence, that frequently kicked across goal, or to the the wrong pocket, or simply to the opposition. Despite this error ridden football, the Dogs kept in touch. The Eagles early accuracy on goal wavered in the third quarter and rather than putting the Dogs away, the door was left open.
The last quarter was promising to be cracker and the crowd was not disappointed. The Eagles dug deep and managed to kick three goals into the slight cross breeze, seemingly putting the game beyond reach of the Bulldogs, but the Dogs would not be denied and frantically tried to close the gap. The team lifted for the last 10-minutes and propelled the ball forward, entering the 50-arc on numerous occasions. They failed to capitalise on these opportunities in the end, missing everything from a set shot from 35-m out, directly in front and hitting the outside of the right post from another very gettable shot. They were missing a leading forward or two who could stretch the Eagles slow defence, but alas, they found too many Eagles defenders, who used their aerial supremacy to thwart attacks.
In the end, the Eagles had a little more spread of talent across the ground and were able to kick critical goals that steadied the ship when the Dogs looked threatening.
Well done to the Eagles.
Final Scores Eagles 10 6 66 to the Bulldogs 9 2 56
Bets players
Eagles: Hazlewood, Barnes, Crighton, Robles and S. Carden
Bulldogs: K. Smith, Sullivan, Stevenson, Berkelaar, Cameron
A special bravery award to Kate McLaughlin, who was the first female to ever play in a CAFL grand final.
Last Modified on 31/10/2015 18:05