Eagles v Sturt Sunday 2 September Adelaide Oval The finals

Eagles v Sturt
Sunday 2 September
Adelaide Oval

League: 3:15pm

EAGLES

Woodville-West Torrens has named a very settled line-up for the Qualifying Final against Sturt.

Rugged midfielder Jack Firns and versatile defender Joe Heinjus have been added to the Eagles’ 23-man squad.

Both Firns and Heinjus have been listed on the five-man extended interchange bench, which must be trimmed by two before the bounce.



F: Johansen, N. Hayes, Lukosius

HF: Boyd, J. Hayes, Petrenko

C: Hall, Sinor, Lewis

HB: Goldsworthy, Thompson, Rowland

B: Giuffreda, Von Bertouch, Stewart



R: Redden, Sharrad, Poole

INT: Haylock, Gray, Borholm, Firns, Heinjus

IN: Firns, Heinjus
– FIRNS, GUILHAUS, HEINJUS, ROWE ( this was in the email the first one was from the sanfl )

OUT –

Woodville-West Torrens has advanced to the Second Semi-Final after strangling Sturt by 21 points in the Qualifying Final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

Desperate to atone for last year’s straight-sets finals exit, the Eagles kept the Double Blues to just 10 scoring shots and a total of 40 points as they earned first crack at minor premier Norwood next Sunday.

”It was nice,” Eagles coach Michael Godden told Channel 7 when asked about the defensive effort.

”We haven’t had a good couple of years in finals so the pressure was on us but we feel the monkey is off the back a little bit now.

”Our effort around the contest was outstanding, our tackling pressure was top notch, we just didn’t use the footy as we would have liked.”

Fuelled by rejuvenated veteran Paul Stewart, who finished with 35 disposals and 12 marks in an influential display, the Eagles led at every change as they found multiple avenues to goal.

While the boys from Oval Avenue were inaccurate in booting 8.13, they still mustered 21 shots on goal as Angus Poole, Tom Gray and Ethan Haylock worked in well around the Hayes brothers – Nick and Jack.

”It’s a dynamic forward line,” Godden noted.

”It’s a lot younger than we had in the past and there is some real class up there. We needed to kick a bigger score and while we didn’t kick a big score, we had a lot of shots (on goal) which was pleasing.”

Nick Hayes had a particularly strong first half as he tallied 24 disposals and a noteworthy 13 tackles while spending the majority of his time in the Eagles’ attacking 50m arc.

One of the contenders for the Magarey Medal – James Boyd – racked up 28 touches as he teamed with Stewart in helping put Sturt’s midfield on the back foot.

Classy Eagles teenager Jack Lukosius only managed a behind – from a quick snap at 3om – but roamed high up the field for a forward to register 18 disposals and seven marks as he used the ball wisely on most occasions.

Already without Jake Johansen, who was a late withdrawal with a calf ailment, the Eagles’ only concern will be the health of ruckman Marc Borholm, who was sporting an ice pack on his foot after the final siren.


Conversely, Sturt will again be busy assessing the fitness of its players after premiership midfielder James Battersby was forced from the field with a shoulder injury during the third quarter.

Already missing the grunt of Aidan Riley – unavailable due to a hamstring strain – in the centre square, the Double Blues were severely hampered when Battersby was deemed unfit to resume.

With high-flying Shane McAdam kept in check by Eagles co-captain Pat Giuffreda, the defending champs battled to hit the scoreboard with any regularity.

Sturt didn’t register a major between McAdam’s two goals which were scored in the seventh minute of the third term and the 13th of the fourth term.

In between, the Eagles booted 3.3 to take control of the contest and book a berth against the Redlegs next Sunday.

The Double Blues will now hope Riley will recover in time for the First Semi-Final against North Adelaide, while Jack Oatey Medallist Fraser Evans will also attempt to rush himself back from the ankle injury he sustained against Glenelg in Round 19.

EAGLES 2.4 4.7 7.9 8.13 (61)

STURT 2.2 3.3 4.3 6.4 (40)

LEADING DISPOSALS – Eagles: Stewart 35, Boyd 28, N. Hayes 24, Lewis 23, Haylock 20, Hall 19, Rowland, Lukosius 18, Sinor 17.

Sturt: Kirkwood 24, Crocker, Colquhoun 22, Taggert 16, Thiele, Stephens 14.

GOALS – Eagles: Poole 2, Borholm, Gray, Hall, J. Hayes, N. Hayes, Haylock.

Sturt: McAdam 2, Osborn, Read, Taggert, Dodd.

INJURIES -Eagles: Borholm (foot).

Sturt: Battersby (shoulder).

UMPIRES – C. Bowen, G. Lewis, M. Harris

21 scoring shots to 10, 2 or 3 posters in the 13 points, 100 more disposals.
Great game from the defence to keep the to 40 points.
Possibly Paul Stewart's best game since he returned.
Reset and go again next week.

Certainly was a battle of defence

Bomber gone for the year fractured Top of his foot

Columbo wrote:21 scoring shots to 10, 2 or 3 posters in the 13 points, 100 more disposals.
Great game from the defence to keep the to 40 points.
Possibly Paul Stewart's best game since he returned.
Reset and go again next week.

Have to agree with you. Unfortunately I am touring sunny Italy at the moment and had to watch on the digital pass. You have to hand it to Godden and his coaching staff. We are short on power forwards but still can produce a style that suits what we have.
Not the prettiest style this chip and run but it suits our smalls.

Have seen a few comments about how defensive the game was compared to the early game, interesting to note we had 1 more scoring shot than North and South.

Shattered for Bomber, its a cruel game at times.

Columbo wrote:Have seen a few comments about how defensive the game was compared to the early game, interesting to note we had 1 more scoring shot than North and South.

Shattered for Bomber, its a cruel game at times.

Yes poor bomber he has been playing fantastic .

I found seeing two different styles in the two games interesting to watch
Non stop attacking
To our game non stop defense .
Must admit we did stop sturt from scoring this time .