THE Mallee Eagles caused the upset of round 17 of CMFNL football when they defeated a disappointing Lake Boga combination on Saturday to register a 27-point victory.
Showers persisted, particularly in the first half, with the Eagles controlling the contest from the opening minutes and were never in danger of losing the match.
The Magpies should have performed much better, given the fact that they needed to secure their finals berth and had brought back seven players to their line-up, which should have given them the edge.
Harry Allen produced a best-on-ground performance for the Eagles and youngster Jonah Devlin, playing his first game, showed he will be a player with a bright future.
The opening term was an arm wrestle as the ball traversed both half-back lines, but deep forward entries for both sides were rare. An interesting battle developed between the Eagles’ big man Angus McKenzie and inform ruckman Jacob Simpson, keeping the large crowd enthralled at their athleticism.
Lake Boga kicked the opening goal after Jayden Lonergan was awarded a 50-metre penalty that took him to the goal line, but a quick replay from Jake Foster restored the status quo.
The Eagles seemed to settle better than Lake Boga, with Ayden Tessari showing his class across half-back with the support by Tom McGregor, who had the better of Angus Monfries, and Zac O’Meara was displaying the football smarts beyond his years.
The Eagles put their bodies over the ball with significant effect in this first term, while the Magpies tended to overuse the footy, creating plenty of turnover opportunities.
The Magpies’ better players were Simpson, Matt and Josh Filo, and the rugged Tyle Williams. A late long goal by Sam Dunstan after clever work from Ethan Pinchin gave the Eagles a four-point margin at the first break.
The second term was again a hard slog with the ball continually on the deck. With large packs common, the team that adapted the best that would get any advantage.
Pinchin showed the way when he booted two great snap goals. One, while lying on his back, was one for the ages.
Lonergan kicked his second, but Dunstan replied with his second. The Eagles adapted better to the heavy conditions, with Allen dominating pack situations and Tessari controlling the game across half-back, and were able to take a commanding 15-point lead at half-time.
Simpson and Allen put on a great display of wet weather football in the third quarter with both players attacking contested situations with great zest. Allen along with Toby Sheahan, Josh Bibby, Devlin and O’Meara performed at an extremely high level while Williams, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Daniel Dzufer and Josh Filo continued to hit the packs hard for the Magpies.
Lake Boga’s season was on the line at three quarter-time and Magpies coach Shawn Filo was extremely animated addressing his players. He told them that if they wanted to play finals then they had to lift their work rate and to get back to the basics when playing in wet conditions.
“You can bring seven names into your line-up but that means nothing if they aren’t performing,” he told the huddle.
The Magpies seemed to respond to this, booting three quick goals to dramatically cut the margin and an unlikely comeback looked possible midway through the final term.
Allen, O’Meara, Bibby, Tom McGregor, Sheahan and Tessari responded magnificently, however, and along with Dunstan were able to shut down any thoughts of a miraculous Magpie comeback, keeping their own finals aspirations alive and creating an interesting final round on Saturday.
VOTES
3 Votes Harry Allen (Mallee Eagles)
2 Votes Jacob Simpson (Lake Boga)
1 Vote Ayden Tessari (Mallee Eagles)
MATCH RESULTS
LAKE BOGA 1.4 2.6 3.6 6.9.45
MALLEE EAGLES 2.1 5.3 8.5 11.6.72
GOALS – LAKE BOGA – Darby Hayes, Jayden Lonergan 2, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Jacob Simpson 1.
MALLEE EAGLES – Sam Dunstan 5, Ethan Pinchen, Toby Sheahan 2, Harry Allen, Jake Foster 1.
BEST – LAKE BOGA – Jacob Simpson, Daniel Dzufer, Joshua Cruse-Filo, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, Tyle Williams, Jayden Lonergan.
MALLEE EAGLES – Luke Doolan, Clinton Cummins, Toby Sheahan, Harry Allen, Hamish McGregor, Angus McKenzie.
