East Geelong set the GDFL world alight on Saturday, dominating former ladder leaders Bannockburn from the outset of the match.
A spirited final quarter effort from Bannockburn saw the margin eventually cut back to a flattering 42 points, but in reality it was the Eagles that had absolute ascendancy when it mattered.
East Geelong coach Adam Skrobolak admitted he might have been a bit surprised with the scoreboard at the first break, with his side holding a 10 goal lead, but said he knew his side was very capable.
“We’ve had moments this year where we can play at that high standard of football but we haven’t really been able to do it for longer periods of time,” said Skrobolak. “I knew we had it in us but it’s just a matter of putting it together.”
In arguably the best quarter played this year, the Eagles moved the ball at will in the opening term, leaving Bannockburn players in a state of shock. Although there were moments in the remainder of the match in which the Tigers rallied hard, the result was already set in stone.
Bannockburn coach Kevin Dans showed his disgust in his player’s first quarter effort, stating after the match that they simply came out flat from the outset. He denied however that they were too comfortable after last week’s impressive victory over Bell Post Hill.
“We might have still been riding high from last week but I don’t really think that is the case,” he said. “We came into the match with the right mindset and I could see in the player’s eyes how much they were hurting.”
“They really have to take it personally and it is hard for me to say whether they have done that or not, it’s in individual thing.”
With some key names out of action for the Tigers as well as the early losses of Ben Naylon and Aaron Nicholson, Dans admitted his side was far from full strength but refused to try and make any excuses.
The result sees East now sitting in fourth position, after winning six games in a row. It is likely that only now will they start to receive genuine attention however, with Saturday’s win being the first against a top five sides since round one.
Skrobolak conceded he was aware of the fact that the Eagles hadn’t been able to beat a genuine finals aspirant for some time.
“We had talked about it during the week and we were aware just how crucial this match was,” he said. “I guess we might start to receive some added attention now seeing as our previous wins had been against the lesser sides.”
He said he wasn’t concerned with the premiership favourite tag that could potentially be labelled on his team, stating that his players would handle it with ease.
“We have a good mix of young and old guys so we have the experience to know how to handle this sort of situation and it is a very long season.”
East now turns their attention to North Geelong next week and a win could potentially seem them catapulted to the top of the ladder.
As for Bannockburn, it faces close town rivals Inverleigh in a match Dans says his players must really want to win. He said they must recapture the fire in the belly if they are to come away with the goods.
Last Modified on 21/06/2009 17:52