Eagles vs Sturt Sunday 5th September Fortress Woodville

A hard finishing sturt this week

Ok its now Tuesday, time to get over that loss!!!
Time to get on with this weeks adventure. No one was happy
after last week, players, supporters, coaching staff, maybe Norwood the
exception.
Time to turn the page and fire up again and think about Sturt, beating them and finishing the
minor round on a possative.
So lets get together again and shout our lungs out for our team on Sunday!

Eagleonly wrote:Ok its now Tuesday, time to get over that loss!!!
Time to get on with this weeks adventure. No one was happy
after last week, players, supporters, coaching staff, maybe Norwood the
exception.
Time to turn the page and fire up again and think about Sturt, beating them and finishing the
minor round on a possative.
So lets get together again and shout our lungs out for our team on Sunday!

Ok Eagleonly you've got me, I've turned the page & getting fired up for Sunday. The only problem I've got is with your last suggestion of shouting our lungs out. I hope your whistle is working as good as last week because not sure if you can count on my shouting. I've got five days to go so I'd better get on with the gargling

Good stuff Eagle014! Just keep quiet until Sunday and I promise that voice will come back. Im not so good with the voice, thanks to my mum for teaching me to whistle!! C ya Sunday! Take care now.

Eagle014 - they'll know you're there as they'll feel the eagle eyes on them!
I reckon the boys personal pride will see them through this week.

Col D wrote:Eagle014 - they'll know you're there as they'll feel the eagle eyes on them!
I reckon the boys personal pride will see them through this week.

I hope your correct CD win and we could very well still take 3rd spot !!

U18s are playing on Saturday at Unley from 11.25 am

looks like young Redden is doing double duty first ruck in the seconds and on the bench in the league team

Nothing against Redden, but it would stupid to play him in the League this week, he didn't do much in the couple of matches he has played, but he will be useless given the forecast. Lane should be given the opportunity.

U18s Eagles went down yesturday at Unley 6.7 to 10.7 will now face Sturt again in the Elimination Final, most probably at Richmond before the Reserves final.

Well done sturt in what was really a nothing game(either way we were playing u next week) .Take nothing away from Sturt they were far better.
Eagles were extremely poor and heads will roll this week at selection .players that should have been dropped this week will be dropped next .

BUT STURT should have had the game signed sealed and delivered at 1/4 time .Sturt could have been 11 goals to zip !!

Not 100% certain what the Eagles are upto .Grocke was a late out with soreness (do I smell a Fremantle move here ).
Eagles under18's promoted to the seconds in another nothing game.Eagles under 18's lost without some very good players !!

And the sturt Cheer squad were they at it again !!! Walking across the oval at 3/4 time .No idea what happened some sort of altercation with Weslo .1taken away and then his mate started and he got taken away .My question is why you've the game in the bag why bother to fight with anyone.Enjoy the football win !!


I have posted the above elsewhere .I am so angry just like last week.
Eagles need to find some backbone next week to show everyone we are not an easy beat team like the Sturt fans are writing !!

Bit of pressure on the Club now. They flicked Ronny cos 4th was not good enough - now look like finishing 5th! How long is Gods contracted for?

Everybody relax !!!

Next week is another day - plenty of players to return.

Today wasn't good - granted.
The 1st half was as bad as I've seen since the 04 GF but...

1. Conditions were poor.
2. Sturt played well.
3. Forward line is missing some good players - Grocke makes a BIG difference - unlike Day, he is a MARKING target & keeps the ball in the area

Surely, Day's days are numbered (do you like that?)

2nd half was better - in terms of effort.

Hopefully, Sturt's players are as over confident as their supporters.

LoudEagleHooligan wrote:Everybody relax !!!

Next week is another day - plenty of players to return.

Today wasn't good - granted.
The 1st half was as bad as I've seen since the 04 GF but...

1. Conditions were poor.
2. Sturt played well.
3. Forward line is missing some good players - Grocke makes a BIG difference - unlike Day, he is a MARKING target & keeps the ball in the area

Surely, Day's days are numbered (do you like that?)

2nd half was better - in terms of effort.

Hopefully, Sturt's players are as over confident as their supporters.

Totally agree LEH

EAGLES VS STURT - ROUND 23



Michael Godden – Senior Coach Report

For the second week in a row we have played well below the standards we set for ourselves.

As I mentioned last week you can’t lose skills and ability in a couple of weeks but what you can lose is confidence, and it is clear that the players are not on the top of their game at the moment. One thing we can focus on is what makes us a good team and what we need to do on Sunday in order to win the Elimination Final. Internally the group is very excited about the opportunity to play Sturt so quickly after being well beaten on the weekend. A real positive is we have been preparing a style of game that I believe will win Finals since last October, and we are all very confident we are ready to put that into place. One disappointing thing is not having the double chance which obviously is a huge advantage, but the group knows that it’s only 4 games and if we work hard enough as a team and are desperate enough then the rest will take care of itself. I must admit I haven’t seen too many teams as disappointed as we were on Sunday night and then turn around and be so excited about the prospect of playing this weekend. There is steeliness about this group and we can only hope this translates into a victory.

This week will be a low key week so I can freshen the group up in both body and mind so they are ready to go on Sunday and leave nothing to chance.

Finally I would like to congratulate Terry Hutton and Craig Smith with the Under 18s and Reserves for their minor round. It has been really pleasing to see the individual development of a lot of young players this year while still been able to win enough games to give the boys an opportunity to experience finals footy, which at any level is invaluable to their development. So with that said, good luck to the Under 18’s and Reserves and hopefully we can see as many Eagles supporters out to all games to cheer on the boys this weekend because I know the players really appreciate it and it certainly helps the players get through.



Craig Smith - Reserves Coach Report

For the second week in a row the Reserves managed to win a close game by 5 points. The circumstances, however, were very different to last week. We were once again forced to make several changes (6 in fact, including Brayden Cunningham having to back up from playing under 18s on the Saturday) at the selection table. This provided some of our younger players with an opportunity to test their progress against Sturt who were assured of finishing as minor premier. As a coach I am always excited to see young players get opportunities. We are fortunate to have a good development program with some exceptionally talented players. As well as this the boys we have brought into the Reserves team have shown that they have very strong character also.

We played some excellent football in the first quarter and at quarter time the score was 6.3 to 0.1. We knew that Sturt would come back and in the second quarter they lifted their intensity. Our defence did an outstanding job to hold them to one goal three. The half time score was 6.5 to 1.4 and we were 31 points in front.

It is fair to say that Sturt had the better of the second half and we played some indecisive football at times. What was pleasing though was that we were able to kick goals at key moments to keep the opposition at arms length and while it got very tight in the last quarter we managed to hang on and win by 5 points.

I think it says a lot about how we have matured as a group this year that the players were a little disappointed after the game with how they had played. It was pointed out to them that we had just beaten the top team and that despite not producing our best form collectively for the entire match there was some positive signs from some players who had been struggling a little for form, as well as the excellent contributions from our younger players.

It is clear after the performance on Sunday that we are able to play some excellent football and work well as a unit. There is some real belief that at our best we are very competitive against all teams. This is a good sign going into the final series.

The Reserves have played 52 players in the minor round and I can honestly say that all 52 have made good contributions to the team when required. We have also seen several players gain some confidence and form which helped them force their way into the senior side. With all three sides in Finals it is an exciting time at the football Club. Hopefully the weather will come good, the sun will shine and the smell of cut grass will be in the air. This is the time of the year to play football!! This is when all the hard work that started in November last year will hopefully pay dividends.

I know all the players and coaches will be doing everything they can to achieve success in the Finals series. I encourage all friends of the feather to venture down to Noarlunga on Saturday to watch and support our Under 18’s and Reserves as they play in their first final before buttering up again on Sunday to support the league. After all, there is no such thing as too much football is there? We should never take playing in Finals for granted, and I encourage everyone who supports the Club to enjoy the moment. Let’s hope it is a month long ride.



Terry Hutton – Under 18’s Coach Report

The game was played in very wet muddy conditions with rain falling for most of the match. A slight breeze came from the north east initially. Handling of the ball was very difficult and most of the quarter centred around scrimmages, players slipping over, balls going to ground, limited skills being shown. Both teams battled hard to gain control. Goss was very good in Ruck with accurate taps down to the chosen area but the ball winner was immediately taken to ground, Toumpas on the wing tackled strongly and rebounded early in the quarter. Cunningham took a strong saving mark on the last line of defence. Harding was in everything, clean take off the ground on the wing powering the ball forward. Batty roved the pack well and snapped our 1st goal. He showed a lot of courage in the pack and was constantly at the fall. Appleton strongly attacked the ball winning many possessions.

But little errors crept into the game – Batley was led to the ball too easily, Toumpas fumbled out on at HBF twice then tried to kick off 2 steps. He needs to remain cool and collected under pressure. Brusnahan flew up against 2 Eagle players and allowed the ball to slip behind the pack, Broadbent was slow in getting over to help team mate who had 2 Sturt players chasing him. Drogmueller raced up to the ball toss on the wing, leaving behind the dangerous Day alone at CHF who marked and goaled easily. We failed to find our target players in Von Bertouch and Jacquier. They had several players contesting with them.

The 2nd quarter saw our undoing as we allowed Sturt too many easy possessions. We were very slow to pick up the loose player, we allowed them to drop back into our defence and to rebound along the boundary. They proved more determined to win the hard ball and constantly slid in after the ball, handballed back to disciplined players on the defence side of the contest and then ran forward to capitalise. Schwarz was giving solid service around the centre, .Daly read well off the pack to register our 2nd goal, Batley came through the centre several times to help set up attack, Summerton read the play on the half back flank to get across and to spoil strongly to the boundary. His 20m chase in the 3rd quarter was outstanding. Sinor was into every pack and his block for Daly was very effective. Errors cost us 3 goals as there were several times we kicked out of bounds on the full as well as kicked into the man on the mark allowing Sturt to rush the ball forward to score

The 3rd quarter saw a spirited fight back as players were quick to tackle and move the ball forward. Sturt were disciplined enough to sit out from the contests either clogging up, our forward line or waiting for the quick kick out so they could run forward in attack. We need to look around and to pick up the loose player more quickly. Hobbs made strong efforts to be in front and though he didn’t take the ball firmly his work on the ground to pick up the slippery ball was very good. Appleton gave a very good instinctive handball to L. Dunstan scouting the pack and scored our 4th goal. Brusnahan came into the game more with strong rebounding kicks from the back line. These kicks just have to be given more air rather than punched so hard. Elfenbien showed pace on the wing to attack the loose ball. Though conditions were still very poor and players found it very hard to keep their feet we made the cardinal error of not getting back off the mark quickly enough or far enough and thus kicked into the man, giving Sturt the front running.

The 4th quarter saw a mini revival as we had the ball in our forward line for the first 12 minutes. L. Dunstan quick kick out of centre and Harding speed led to goal 5. Drogmuller was rucking and directing the tap intelligently Sinor bustled through the pack and the 6th goal was scored. Summerton, no hesitation or waiting, rebounded strongly out of the back line, driving the ball well into centre, but little errors crept into the effort, several marks were dropped and in the forward thrusts we seldom had crumbers sitting front and square to snaffle the ball that comes to ground. Sturt scored a couple of late goals to seal the match.

Cashel playing his 1st game for a few weeks had some useful touches but was unable to read the play movement consistently enough. Mansell was asked to play a different role this week due to other players being selected for the reserves. His usual clean pick up in the back line and positive rebounds were missing. Digance had limited time on the ground as the coach was trying to match up opposition players and achieve a balanced side. Through out the match the side was tossed around in many positional changes to curb Sturt very good ball getters.

'...I encourage all friends of the feather to venture down to Noarlunga on Saturday to watch and support our Under 18’s and Reserves as they play in their first final before buttering up again on Sunday to support the league. After all, there is no such thing as too much football is there? We should never take playing in Finals for granted, and I encourage everyone who supports the Club to enjoy the moment. Let’s hope it is a month long ride.'

Not only does Smithy write enjoyable game summaries, I love his passion for the club. Good onya mate!