EFNL Division 1: Beaconsfield leading goalkicker Jafar Ocaa suffers ‘heartbreaking’ injury

The Eagles will be without their leading goalkicker for a potential Eastern Division 1 finals campaign – but the coach is confident he has the cattle to fill the void. Latest here.

BEACONSFIELD has suffered a hammer blow ahead of a potential Division 1 finals campaign with its leading goalkicker set for a lengthy stint on the sidelines.

Jafar Ocaa suffered a broken left leg about 10 minutes into the third quarter in Saturday’s 31-point loss to finals-bound rival Montrose.

Ocaa kicked two goals in the match, lifting his season-total to 32 majors from 14 games – currently ranked equal-third in the division.

Eagles senior coach Mick Fogarty described the injury as “heartbreaking” following an “innocuous” incident.

The club sits a game clear in fifth spot on the ladder with two home-and-away rounds left.

“It’s obviously really unfortunate for ‘Jaf’ – he’s been in really good form this year and to cop an injury like that at the business end of the year is pretty heartbreaking to be honest,” Fogarty said.

“He just went for a ball that came … and he was sort of being hung onto and got a free kick, and just as he went over, he got his foot caught with the Montrose defender.

“It was just an innocuous incident – just one of those unfortunate football injuries.”

Jafar Ocaa (right) in action. Picture: Hamish Blair

But Fogarty remained confident his players could fill the void left by Ocaa – headlined by former AFL Saint and Hawk Darren Minchington.

The 29-year-old returned to the senior side a fortnight ago and kicked three goals, after previously playing just three matches for the season.

“We’ve got some options – Minchington’s come back into the side and he can slot forward like he did against Wantirna South,” Fogarty said.

“We had him running on the footy on Saturday (and) Harry Coe’s another one that can go down there.

“We’ve got plenty of options to cover him (Ocaa), but he’s a super player and one we’re certainly going to miss.”

The Eagles coach is hopeful on the returns of Michael Misso and co-captain Damien Johnston for this weekend’s match against North Ringwood – with fourth spot up for grabs.

Fogarty said despite Ocaa’s injury, the list remained in sound health leading into the last two games.

“We’re OK – Jaf is obviously the major one now but other than that, we’re just like every team – we’ve got a couple of blokes missing here and there and again, that’s the way it is with footy.”