THE Mallee Eagles returned to the winners’ list at home with a 35-point win over Tooleybuc-Manangatang keeping them within touching distance of the top five.
While the victory was the Eagles’ first since their round 8 defeat of Tyntynder last month, it also came at a cost, with the Mallee side losing key rebounding defender Jacob Wade to what appeared to be an ACL injury.
While the Eagles regained the services of Jake Foster, Wes Bennett and Callum Dickinson at the weekend, the loss of Wade for the rest of the season is another blow in what has been a difficult run with injuries for the Eagles, according to assistant coach Harry Allen.
“It’s kind of been the story of the year for us, really,” Allen said.
“Injuries have just cruelled us at times and with the likes of (Wade) going down, who is one of our skippers and the heart and soul of our team, it’s pretty gutting for our side.
“At this stage it looks as though he’s done his ACL, which is really disappointing for him – and us to lose a player of his calibre.”
The result, however, kept the Eagles’ finals hopes alive.
“It’s just good to get the four points and keep in touch with the top five still,” Allen said.
“If we had’ve dropped that game it would have made it pretty hard for us, especially with Tyntynder getting over Cohuna – it just helps us bridge that gap a bit.”
The Eagles kicked seven goals to four in the first half, taking a 23-point lead into the main break despite occasional sloppy disposal. They dominated through the midfield, with Toby Sheahan, Wes Bennett and Allen among the better players.
Andrew McDonald wound back the clock up forward with a game-high seven goals.
“We butchered the footy going inside 50 a little bit and we probably missed a couple of opportunities that we should have converted, which was a bit frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re in control of the game but can’t quite put it on the scoreboard,” Allen said.
Angus McKenzie and Alex Powell had a tough battle in the ruck and shared the points. McKenzie got the better of Powell around the stoppages, but Powell did more damage around the ground.
The key player for the home side was Clinton Cummins, with his ability to not only lock down his opponents, but run off half-back in the absence of Wade. This earned him best-on-ground honours.
For the Saints, Ryan Regan on a wing had his best game in the red, white and black, while Zac Nicholls, off half-back, and Brayden Pitcher, who rotated between the midfield and up forward, were strong contributors.
Peter Rothacker had the job on Eagles midfield ace Allen and was also serviceable, restricting Allen to less than his usual output.
Tooleybuc-Manangatang also lost midfielder Shylo Smith for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury.
VOTES
3 – Clinton Cummins (Mallee Eagles)
2 – Andrew McDonald (Mallee Eagles)
1 – Ryan Regan (Tooleybuc-Manangatang)
MATCH RESULTS
MALLEE EAGLES 3.5 7.7 11.9 13.14.92
TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG 1.1 4.2 6.2 9.3.57
GOALS – MALLEE EAGLES – Andrew McDonald 7, Ethan Pinchen, Toby Sheahan 2, Jake Foster, Hamish McGregor 1.
TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG – Ryan Kliemt, Brayden Pitcher, Alex Powell 2, Liam Baldwin, Peter Rothacker, John Wardle 1.
BEST – MALLEE EAGLES – Clinton Cummins, Angus McKenzie, Toby Sheahan, Wesley Bennett, Harry Allen, Andrew McDonald.
TOOLEYBUC-MANANGATANG – Ryan Regan, Zac Nichols, Brayden Pitcher, Alex Powell, Peter Rothacker, Gareth Grant.
