The Eagles snatch victory from the jaws of the Cougars.
How do you not score in the last quarter and still win buy one point??
Bad kicking or constant pressure sums it up as the first victory of the year to the cellar dwellers finally came around. With the use of their monster bench the Eagles kept the legs running and the water flowing on this thirsty nor wester day.
Boony, Saumby, Southby and Traynor never gave up and propelled the Eagles into attack but last man in defence Morel stood tall and cut the scoring down to a trickle for the Cougars. For the Cougars Leckie, Dev and Rhodes use of the ball around the ground kept the Cougars in touch but accuracy was a long way off and eventually cost them in the last quarter.
The CAFL has a long history with goal umpire controversy in tight games and this was a good example where a point was awarded by the Cougars goal umpire but the Eagle eyed field umpire (Pun of the century !!) disallowed it saying it was OUT ! The Cougars bench erupted and discussions and inquiries were held post match and eye examinations were ordered and the Optometrist got $250 bucks and we got new prescriptions made and somehow with 15% of the ball in the last quarter and no inside 50’s the Eagles snatched the win by ONE POINT !!
Queue the CLUB SONG……… Half the team were in the middle getting their initiation and the other half were jumping with glee.
All was set for a great AFL Grand Final Day
The Jimmy Stevenson Show
From a lanky Centre Half Back to a Full Forward Spearhead in 3 countries. The visit by the ex-captain of the Bulldogs Jimmy from stints playing in Melbourne and London was absolutely sensational. We’ve seen some dominant Bulldog line-ups this year but the aerial marking display, the use of his height and accuracy on target- Jimmy was a one-man demolition machine. Whether the ball was delivered low and fast in front or a high bomb the ex-captain; who hadn’t played for his first club since 2012, plucked the ball from seemingly impossible angles to score a bag.
The Blues started well with the usual suspects of Johnson, Bowden and Williams putting in the hard yards to propel them forward sometimes finding their target forward Willy but the Bulldogs defence of Burdett and Cameron thwarted most attacks around the half back line. Quarter time scores saw the Blues 2 2 14 to Bulldogs 2 4 16.
And that was as close as it got as The Blues who started with 12 and borrowed 4 Eagles started to wilt in the warm nor wester. Chins was best on ground for friendly banter but too many doggies like Mavor, K Smith, and Jinxy combined well around the ground to deliver pin point accuracy to the cameo full forward James Stephenson. If only his 2012 coach Harry Peterson could have witnessed it he would have rued the day he left him at full back and put himself at Full forward. !
by Steve Langridge
Last Modified on 08/12/2020 20:19