The Mallee Eagles will go into their must-win match against ladder leaders NNW United full of confidence after a hard-fought 23-point win over Swan Hill at Lalbert on Saturday.
After a competitive first half, where both teams finished locked at 47-points each, the home side kicked clear after the break with a five goal to two third quarter to break the game open.
The 14.10 (94) to 10.11 (71) win was the Eagles first under co-coaches Harry Allen and Brent Macleod, with the former pleased with his team’s effort after their opening round loss two weeks ago.
“It was a good four quarter performance from our boys and a much better indication of the way we want to play than our first game,” Allen said.
“We had a fortnight to stew on that Tooleybuc loss and as good as they were, we were well off that day, especially with our disposal and efficiency going inside 50.
“We went to work on those areas over the last two weeks with the bye and I felt we showed a big improvement in those areas on Saturday.
“It was a pretty even contest for much of the game. We just found a bit of momentum after half time and kicked three or four goals at the start of the third, which gave us a little bit of separation. We were lucky to hold onto that lead and finished the game off strong.”
The Swans certainly had enough of the play in the first half, with Ned McKeown and Tom Isma causing the Eagles headaches across half back and through the midfield, along with Jose Miliado and Jimmy Toumpas, who returned to the Swan Hill line-up against the Eagles.
With McKeown providing the Swans with plenty of drive off half back, Wes Bennett was then moved onto the Swans recruit and limited his impact from then on.
While Bennett was among the Eagles better players, it was their back six, led by Joe Halloran and Clinton Cummins that earned special praise from Allen.
“Our backline was super and everyone played their role and were fantastic in the way we held our structure,” Allen said.
“I thought the midfield battle was really even, they (Swan Hill) have plenty of depth and talent in there, with (Michael) Herlihy, Jose Miliado and Tom Isma, and Toumpas went through there a little bit as well.
“We backed our mids in to compete in there and they did, but up our end, ‘Posty’ (Jayden Post) and Darcy (Hourigan) were a bit too powerful up forward.
“I thought we were a bit cleaner with moving the ball compared to Swan Hill and when we were efficient enough, we were able to put a bit of scoreboard pressure on. But Swan Hill certainly had their moments in the first half.”
The Eagles key forwards in Hourigan and Post proved problematic for the Swan Hill defence, with Post providing the home side with a strong marking target across half forward and Hourigan booting a game high five goals.
Clem Miller was another Eagle who produced a standout game, with the half forward/wingman finding plenty of the ball and around the contest.
At the other end of the ground, Joe Halloran produced a stand out game in restricting Kal Heslop to just one goal, while also intercepting many of the Swans errant forward entries.
For the Swans, Toumpas was a clear standout and produced the most complete four quarter performance of the day, Miliado, Isma, Luke Phelan and ruckman Toby Thoolen were also strong contributors.
FINAL SIREN
| Mallee Eagles | 3.1 | 7.5 | 12.7 | 14.10 | 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swan Hill | 3.3 | 7.5 | 9.9 | 10.11 | 71 |
VOTES
3 – Jimmy Toumpas (Swan Hill)
2 – Joe Halloran (Mallee Eagles)
1 – Clem Miller (Mallee Eagles)
