Woodville-West Torrens romp home over Glenelg

HOW Glenelg must have wished it had sealed the deals. Two players it coveted over summer put it to the sword as the Eagles reaffirmed their premiership credentials.

The Eagles’ Andrew Ainger tried to mark as he is surrounded by Glenelg players. Picture: Tait Schmaal

HOW Glenelg must have wished it had sealed the deals.

Two players it coveted over summer put it to the sword at Woodville Oval as the Eagles reaffirmed their premiership credentials by romping to their biggest win of the year.

Full forward Michael Wundke (from South Adelaide) and midfielder James Boyd (Central District) were interviewed by the Tigers but opted to join Woodville-West Torrens and are leading the Eagles' flag pursuit. Wundke had 11 scoring shots and kicked 5.6 on Sunday while Boyd was influential with an equal game-high 27 disposals and a classy goal in the easy 50-point victory.

They helped ignite the Eagles early, with the home side booting four goals without reply in the opening 13 minutes.

From there it was a cakewalk for Michael Godden's men, who led by a game-high 68 points before conceding three goals in the last three minutes. "They've been terrific pick ups,'' Godden said of his new pair of difference makers.

The Eagles’ Andrew Ainger tried to mark as he is surrounded by Glenelg players. Picture: Tait Schmaal

"We needed a forward running midfielder and when Boydy, who is very classy, came onto the market it was a no-brainer for us to try to get him. "And Wundke is just that real power forward who when you kick it to his advantage you know 75 per cent of the time he's going to mark it. "We targeted them and they have been really important to our structure. We have covered what we thought were deficiencies.''

After winning just three of their previous eight quarters in wins against top-three contenders Sturt and South Adelaide, the Eagles — entrenched in the top three with a 5-1 record — dominated the Bays.

They were on track to win all four quarters before slipping up late. But Godden, while disappointed at the final few minutes, was delighted to put a side away early and keep the foot on the throttle until late. "It's a tough competition so any time you win by that sort of margin you've got to be pretty happy,'' he said.

Apart from Wundke, whose kicking at goal was unusually off, and Boyd, the Eagles had plenty of fine contributors.

Veterans Luke Powell (27 disposals) and Luke Jarrad stood tall and young defender Nathan Batley starred, also kicking two goals.

It was a different story for Glenelg.

Last year's wooden spooner was disappointing and has a mountain of work to do to regain credibility.

The Eagles’ Luke Jarrad gets some close attention from Glenelg’s Lachlan Button. Picture: Tait Schmaal

It sits bottom with a 1-5 record and lacks class and leg speed. However coach Nick Stevens, while keeping his players behind closed doors for 30 minutes after the match, believes it is improving.

"We've got a long way to go and we are under no illusions about that,'' he said.

"But we are a young group and we are improving. Let's judge us in about 10 weeks because we'll have a better idea then of where we are at.''

The Tigers — who lost key midfielder Sam Lonergan before the game with a tight quad — had only three goalkickers, with key forward Ruory Kirkby the star performer with four goals against the odds.

EAGLES 5.5 7.9 14.9 17.12 (114) GLENELG 1.3 2.5 6.6 9.10 (64) BEST — Eagles: Wundke, Powell, Boyd, Jarrad, Batley, Raymond, Lloyd, Lewis. Glenelg: Kirkby, Bradley, Thorp, Bailey.

GOALS — Eagles: Wundke 5, Ainger, Batley, Lewis 2, Boyd, Jarrad, Hall, Dunstan, Goldsworthy, Allmond.

Glenelg: Kirkby 4, Bailey 3, Hooper 2.

INJURIES — Glenelg: Agnew (hamstring), Proud (shoulder), Tapp (ankle). UMPIRES — T. Philp, T. Burke, D. Sobieraj.

RESERVES EAGLES 1.1 2.4 9.5 16.10 (106) GLENELG 4.2 7.3 10.3 13.4 (82) BEST — Eagles: Killian, Press, Sinor, Muirhead, Appleton, Ventura. Glenelg: Not available.

GOALS — Eagles: Blesing 4, Press 3, Raymond, Ventura, Ellis 2, Appleton, Muirhead, Lodge. Glenelg: Carger, McNeil, Spriggs, Gamble, Hinge 2, Edwards, Kangur, Hancock.