The East Coast Eagles after two relatively easy victories to start the season looked forward to the clash with another undefeated team, the Campbelltown Blues. This game would certainly give a great indication of how the Eagles sit in regard to their strength in the Sydney AFL competition.
The Campbelltown Blues were coming off a strong victory against the reigning premiers Pennant Hills and the word from across town was that they were extremely confident coming into today’s game. East Coast was also confident in the knowledge that Kelso Oval was a ground that suited their running style of football.
After an even first quarter it was the Eagles who turned up the heat in the second and a six goal to three second quarter lead to a 24 point lead at half-time. This was then backed up with a three goal to one third quarter and with a 36 point lead at three quarter time the game was as good as over. Both sides added four goals in the last quarter and the Eagles finished with a 38 point victory. The final score being East Coast 19 11 125 to Campbelltown 12 15 87.
The win was set up by the run and hardness at the football of Ryan Fitton and Luke Stanford, both judged to be equal best on ground. They were ably supported by Jason Coulloupas and skipper Jon Vlatko who both continue to lead by example. Gus Seebeck was providing a great target up front and ended the day with five goals. He was backed up with three goals from Luke Stanford, Damien Russell and Ryan Smyth. A great strength of the side is to share the workload among many, as had again happened today to bring about the third consecutive victory in season 2007.
The Eagles will take a lot of confidence out of today knowing that further improvement will come from the new players at the club and players who had a limited pre-season. It all looks good for the boys down at Eagle town if they continue to work as hard and if not harder than they are at the moment.
They day was also capped off with two great wins in the lower grades. Reserve grade winning 15 13 103 to 6 8 44. The Under 18’s Premier Cup team won a thriller by one point, 8 7 55 to 8 6 44.
Outstanding for the Reserves was the young duo of Tim Kear and Damian Gatte. Damian was lethal all day playing on a wing and Tim Kear kicked five goals as an on baller. A good sign for the reserves was the four quarter effort which Coach Jason Duss asked for after the loss last week.
The Under 18’s set the tone for the day with a hard fought one point victory over Campbelltown. Best for the day was Nathan Gordon and Murray Bamfort.
The Under 18 Challenge Cup team had a tough day at the office against St Ignatius College and will look to bounce back against UNSW/ES next week. Matthew Bailey was the standout performer on the day.
Next Saturday the Eagles take on the Sydney Uni Students at Sydney Uni No. 1. Seniors at 2.00pm and Reserves at 12.00pm. The Under 18 Premier Cup team takes on North Shore at Gore Hill at 8.30am and the Challenge Cup side takes on UNSW/ES on Sunday at 2.00pm at Charles McLaughlin Reserve at Baulkham Hills.
