A 10 goal final quarter has seen the Mallee Eagles run away with a dominant 66-point win over Tooleybuc-Manangatang on Saturday afternoon.
On a day when the Saints honoured Tooleybuc’s 1965 premiership team, it was the Eagles who had cause to celebrate after recording their ninth win of the season with a devastating second half.
The 18.16 (124) to 9.4 (58) result also leaves Tooleybuc-Manangatang petering dangerously close to falling from the finals race, with the Saints now two wins behind fifth placed Koondrook-Barham and needing to win four of their final five games of the season.
Kicking with the aid of a strong breeze in the first term, Tooleybuc-Manangatang made the early running with a four-goal to two opening term.
The Saints played like a team with their season on the line, moving the ball quickly and deep into their forward 50 with dangerous forwards Connor Nutting, Josh Koster and Isaac Franks all among the goal scorers early.
It would be one of the few contributions from Franks however, with the key forward suffering a knee injury mid-way through the opening term which saw him take no further part in the game.
Although the Eagles were on top around the stoppages, their errant disposal was costing them dearly, with the Saints’ tackle pressure at extreme levels throughout the opening quarter.
It was a standard that would prove impossible to maintain as the game progressed, with Mallee starting to gain the ascendency in the second term and take control of the match through the lines of Darcy McGregor, Matthew Rankine and Isaiah Bull.
McGregor was instrumental around the clearances and on the outside with his ability to drive the ball forward, while Bull was able to do as he wished in the second quarter as he constantly broke the lines off half back and provided an option for his teammates to switch to.
Although the ball lived in the Mallee Eagles’ forward half, the visitors failed to make the most of their opportunities after kicking a wasteful 3.7 for the term.
The Eagles’ ability to get the ball into open space and move it with speed was impressive until they reached that final disposal inside 50, with the Saints often sitting one and sometimes two loose players in the hole in front of Darcy Hourigan.
Hourigan was relatively well held by John Wardle in the first half, but would still finish with four goals for the match after having an impact after half time.
While both teams attacked the ball and the contest with vigour, it was the Eagles who were cleaner with ball in hand after the main break with Tooleybuc-Manangatang’s turnovers beginning to hurt them on transition.
After taking a 10-point lead into half time, Mallee then stretched that advantage out to 19 points at the final change as they further lifted their work rate and pressure on the Saints’ ball carriers.
The final quarter became a procession as the Eagles players all lined up hit the scoreboard as they slammed home 10 goals, including six unanswered between the 10 and 22 minute marks.
While Darcy McGregor and Rankine, who finished with a game high five goals, were standouts, so too was Harry McGregor, whose ability to intercept and provide drive off half back has quickly turned him into a key player for the Eagles.
There were very few passengers for the visitors, in fact there were none, with an even contribution across the board.
Zac O’Meara was influential in his first game back from injury, while Jacob O’Meara showed plenty of promise in the ruck opposed to Connor Mcdonald and Lochlan Prentice all afternoon.
Brady Fordham, Ethan Pinchen and Brent Macleod were also solid contributors for the Eagles, with the only negative coming in the form of an injury to key defender Joe Halloran, who took no further part in the game after a heavy hit in the second quarter.
Ethan Johnstone impressed for the Saints and worked hard all afternoon, along with Blake Grant and Elliot Chalmers in the midfield.
Rydar Morris continued to impress for Tooleybuc-Manangatang in a breakout season for the young half back, with his class a ball use a constant feature for the home side.
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Tooleybuc-Manangatang | 4.1 | 5.1 | 7.2 | 9.4 | 58 |
| Mallee Eagles | 2.4 | 5.11 | 8.15 | 18.16 | 124 |
VOTES
3 – Darcy McGregor (Mallee Eagles)
2 – Matthew Rankine (Mallee Eagles)
1 – Harry McGregor (Mallee Eagles)
