When the East Coast Eagles were formed in 2000, the club had not one married player, let alone any player parent. Time marches on however, things change and on Fathers’ Day in 2010 lots of little Eagles watched proudly as their Dads went about taking the next step to put East Coast a little closer to successive Premierships.
The first semi-final saw yet another encounter between fierce rivals East Coast and Pennant Hills. Their last had only been two weeks earlier in the final home and away match which the Demons won, thus giving them a positive lead in to assumed success in the semi-final. But it was not to be as they were defeated by an East Coast side totally committed to victory. Stung by last week’s defeat in the qualifying final, coach Glenn Garner had made some tough calls in team selection on Thursday night. Missing out were Scott Pierce, Peter Vlatko and Ben Rogers who were replaced by Kieran McRedmond, Peter Dugmore and Ryan Silvester, all returning from injury.
Both sides were confronted by strong and swirly winds at Blacktown Olympic Park with a five goal breeze blowing to the right of screen at the Eastern Road end. Pennant Hills won the toss and took the advantage and although they were well held for the first 18 minutes, the Demons kicked away with four late quarter goals to take a handy lead at quarter time.
Expectations were high in the Eagle camp that they too would benefit from the breeze in the second. East Coast finished up dominating this quarter to take a five point lead going into the long break. Pennant Hills failed to score in this quarter and in fact the ball did not go into their forward 50 once, such was the determination of the Eagles to regain the lead.
The third quarter would be the key to the result and although the Demons had the wind they did not secure the lead that they would have been looking for. East Coast attacked incessantly by looping the ball along the wings and deep into the forward line where Mark Goodey happily kicked two of his four for the match. Jamie Vlatko looked to be back to his best with brilliant overhead marking and accurate kicking for goal. Most people figured that Pennant Hills’ five point lead at ¾ time would not be enough for them to sustain against a side coming home with the breeze.
An epic last quarter however saw both sides fight it out to the death. The Demons kicked two against the breeze, whilst the Eagles with numerous players on the bench injured, kicked four with the sealer coming from an unlikely source when Jack Dimery wandered forward and nailed one home from 45 metres. Once again the margin at the end of this quarter when the final siren went was five points. Numerically, nothing separated the two sides after half time.
Justin Steer easily played his best game across halfback and was a standout for the day. The ‘Golden Fist’ Damien Charleston showed just how much he was missed during 12 weeks of injury, as he roamed unchecked all over the ground picking up possessions at will.
Next Sunday September 12th at 2.15pm sees East Coast again meet Western Suburbs who were beaten in this week’s second semi-final. The winner of this match at Blacktown will win the prized spot through to the Grand Final against Sydney Uni on Sept 18th.
East Coast Eagles 1.0 6.2 8.2 12.5 (77)
Pennant Hills 5.3 5.3 8.7 10.12 (72)
Pennant Hills 5.3 5.3 8.7 10.12 (72)
Goalkickers:Mark Goodey 4, Jamie Vlatko 2, Ryan Fitton, Peter Dugmore, Trent Baker, Darren Chapman, Daniel Spiteri, Jack Dimery.
Best players: Justin Steer, Damien Charleston, Mark Goodey, Jack Dimery, Dean Costello, Eugene Kruger.
Best players: Justin Steer, Damien Charleston, Mark Goodey, Jack Dimery, Dean Costello, Eugene Kruger.
The Under 18 Premier Cup team met Sydney Uni in the second semi-final on Saturday in wet and difficult conditions at Bruce Purser Reserve, with the winner of the match getting a week off and a ticket straight to the Grand Final.
The breeze was favouring the southern end and the Eagles failed to capitalise on its use in the first quarter. However Sydney Uni certainly did in the second, kicking away to a 40 point margin by half time. A strong third term was needed and the Eagles did play their best football in this quarter to still remain in the game, although they had it all in front of them from this point on.
Unable to reel in the opposition in the last, East Coast did however keep the pedal down and were led strongly by Campbell Ford, Jesse Clark and Daniel Lim.
The result was a second chance to qualify for the big one when they meet North Shore in the Preliminary Final next Sunday, September 12th at Blacktown.
Update on Marty Karafilis; Marty remains in Westmead Hospital with a small fracture to his skull and internal bleeding in the brain, which is being monitored daily with CT scans. He is in good spirits despite receiving the news that sport of any kind is out of the question for the next six months. Hopefully we will see Marty out at the game on Sunday to lend his support to his U/18 team mates in their quest for Grand Final honours.
East Coast 2.0 2.4 6.4 7.5 (47)
Sydney Uni 1.3 8.8 9.9 11.16 (82)
Sydney Uni 1.3 8.8 9.9 11.16 (82)
Goal Kickers: Ethan Barclay 2, Daniel Lim 2, Alex Foxall 2, Chris Polkinghorne
Best Players: Campbell Ford, Jesse Clark, Daniel Lim, Anthony Baddock, Jake Pianta, Dominic Killworth
Best Players: Campbell Ford, Jesse Clark, Daniel Lim, Anthony Baddock, Jake Pianta, Dominic Killworth
The Eagles next week:
Sunday September 12th 2010 - Blacktown Olympic Park
10.00am Under 18 Premier Cup v North Shore
2.15pm Premier Division v Western Suburbs
Monday, 06 September 2010 13:49
East Coast were beaten by a better side on the day when they went down to Western Suburbs in last Saturday’s qualifying final in the AFL Sydney Premier League. The Magpies had five goals on the board inside 20 minutes of the first quarter and from that moment on it was always going to be “catch up football” for the Eagles.
With the order of teams for the AFL Sydney Premier League finals series already locked in, the outcome of matches in the last home and away round on Saturday meant nothing in terms of results. However for some, there were bragging rights. Which was the case at Ern Holmes Oval when the East Coast Eagles took on Pennant Hills to compete for the coveted Warren “Pops” Quintrell Shield.
A commanding third quarter by the Magpies sees them take control of the game - Wests 14.10.94 Eagles 7.4.46
