Eagles prove too good for Sturt, winning 62-48
JUST how would Woodville-West Torrens respond to last year’s grand final defeat to Sturt?
JUST how would Woodville-West Torrens respond to last year’s grand final defeat to Sturt? It was the second successive year the Eagles had entered the season finale as favourite, only to be devastated to drop both.
Plenty of big names left the Eagles over the summer, and a heap of questions needed an answer in the wake of two years of heartbreak.
Those memories will definitely linger, but the club has shown tremendous character in the first three rounds to be unbeaten following a hard-fought 14-point victory over the Double Blues yesterday.
“We have looked at this as a journey,” Eagles coach Michael Godden said. “It has not ended on those grand final days and it has continued.
“Unfortunately there has been no end-point so the group is still hungry. The change of personnel is well documented and what you saw against Sturt was a different team. But there is still a lot of fight and to go 3-0 is a pretty good effort.”
The Sturt team which took the field yesterday also had a different look to the triumphant premiership side, with the club hard-hit by injury. It was also a vastly different look to last week when it was smashed in the second half by Glenelg.
In contrast to that insipid final two quarters, it was hungry for the contest and brave.
The Double Blues added 1.16 for the final three quarters yesterday. It shows they had their share of the play and their chances. Both sides were under constant pressure as the players threw themselves into the heat of battle.
The biggest margin for the first three terms was 12 points when the Eagles led early in the third quarter. That is ample evidence of the fierce struggle.
The two sides were guilty of butchering opportunities in the first half, while the wet, slippery conditions then made life even tougher. The desperation acts flowed.
Jared Petrenko and Angus Poole had an influence on the ball for the Eagles and down back it was Luke Thompson, Paul Stewart, Jarred Allmond and Matt Goldsworthy getting heavily involved.
Patrick Wilson was outstanding for the Double Blues in his return from suspension.
Despite the loss, Double Blues coach Marty Mattner was pleased with the performance and the return to “our” brand of football.
“We have played good footy in the past two weeks in halves and quarters,” he said. “We focused on a four-quarter effort and bringing that intensity and effort — we did that.”