Blues versus Eagles September 6th 2014
Both teams in the first game had came off closely fought games in the first round, with the Blues failing narrowly to overhaul the reigning premiers, the Bulldogs and the Eagles hanging on by the skin of their teeth against a rampaging Cougars.
The first quarter was no indication of what was to follow. The eagles were able to wing clearances around the ground and the centre and were able to find avenues to goal. They piled on three early goals before the Blues responded. The Blues received reinforcement with the later arrival of Jonny Fisher and things seem to click in place for the Blues. For the next two quarters the Blues pile on 11-goals to the Eagles 3. The Eagles defence was insipid, with no commitment to the contest and the Blues forwards, Jonny and Nick Fisher, accompanied by Levi Ingliss, dominated the forward-50, marking everything that came their way. The Eagles dearly missed reliable defender Matt Crighton.
The last quarter saw a spirited fight back by the Eagles who kicked 2-goals to the Blues 3-behinds before the game was called off due to a serious knee injury to veteran Blue, Chris Murray, 5-minutes before the final siren.
Blue defender James Bowden was prolific across wing and half back, mopping up anything that came his way. He was ably supported in the midfield by Nick Fisher, Levi Ingliss and Jared Court. Richie Hazelwood was valiant for the Eagles and it was good to see veteran Simon Carden returning to the fray after a season ending knee injury in 2013.
In the late game, the Bulldogs showed they are a team to to be reckoned with in 2014. The Cougars were missing some good players to be sure, without Jamie Day and Callum Mckenzie, but the Bulldogs were without some talent too. The Dogs never let the Cougars get into the game and dominated inside 50's. The Cougar forwards were starved of opportunity and made the most of their limited opportunities. The Dogs had too much grunt around the midfield with the return of Stafan Van Gruting after a hiatus of several years away from the game and the gut running of Toby Foley and Paddy Smith. The silky skills of Zak Williams and Todd Andrews meant that there was always a target in the Dog's forward line to aim for. But for some inaccurate shots on goal, this could have been a real percentage builder for the Dogs who piled on 10 goals 20 behinds. Richie williams, Neil de Joux and Matt Rushton battled manfully for the Cougars, but their team mates will need to improve their ball handling and disposal skills if they are to climb the table.
Last Modified on 06/09/2014 20:52