Whittlesea run down Diamond Creek, remain undefeated, but suffer injuries to key players
Serious injuries marred Whittlesea’s thrilling come-from-behind win over Diamond Creek at Whittlesea Showgrounds on Saturday with the Eagles to be without skipper Riley Dyson for at least two months.
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Serious injuries marred Whittlesea’s thrilling come-from-behind three-point win over Diamond Creek at Whittlesea Showgrounds on Saturday.
The Eagles are undefeated after two games in NFL Division 2 after being relegated last season but must now replace captain Riley Dyson and are sweating on the fitness of key defender Clancy Bland after the pair suffered ankle injuries.
Dyson is expected to miss 2-3 months with a broken ankle but there was better news for Bland, who escaped serious damage.
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Diamond Creek wasn’t immune to injury with Josh Marchbank also going down with an ankle.
The Creekers jumped out to an early lead but Whittlesea was able to slowly peg them back, closing the gap to just six points at three-quarter time.
The Eagles almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a wasteful 2.5 final quarter but held on to secure a vital win.
Coach Blair Harvey said the team’s fitness was crucial in victory.
“We were lucky, we pinched the four points at the end with only two on the bench after halftime,” he said.
“The two wins are great but there’s a lot of improvement. Our fitness has held us in good stead and we’ve been able to run over the top of sides.
“Diamond Creek kicked the first three goals of the game and always seemed to be two or three goals up. But in that last quarter we finished really strongly and only hit the lead at about the 22-minute mark.”
Xavier Dimasi, Jaron Murphy and Nathan Stefanile were among Whittlesea’s best while Harvey praised Blake Watson’s final-quarter performance in the come-from-behind win.
Whittlesea faces last year’s runner-up Eltham after the Easter bye with Harvey confident of securing reinforcements.
“We had a few injuries late in the pre-season so we’re hoping to get four or five guys back,” he said.
In other Division 2 results, Watsonia remained undefeated after a 74-point drubbing of Epping, while Thomastown recorded its first win of the season, crushing St Mary’s by 75 points.
In Division 1, Bundoora claimed a thrilling four-point win over North Heidelberg with Gary Moorcroft and Shane Harvey both kicking five goals.
And in Division 3, Mernda is still looking for its first victory after a 24-point loss to Kilmore while South Morang was hammered by 124 points by Panton Hill.
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