FINALS FOOTBALL
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Premier Division v Western Suburbs 2.15pm Sunday September 12 at Blacktown Olympic Park
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Premier Cup v North Shore 10am Sunday September 12 at Blacktown Olympic Park
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ECE manning the gates during finals. Please volunteer for a shift! info@eastcoasteagles.com.au
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Club Champion Night to be held at the Castle Hill RSL on Saturday October 23. Put it in your diary!
The East Coast Eagles will be conducting their first Country Ball on May 22nd. This is a lighter event than the Black Tie Ball of previous years, and we are asking all players, members and supporters to come along and enjoy a night of games, prizes and dress ups. No need for ball gowns and tuxedoes at this event, simply get dressed up in your best country gear and be in the running for one of the Best Dressed Awards. There will be extra games played on the night, so bring a bit of spare change and get involved.
You can pre-purchase tickets at a discounted rate from the online store, or by seeing Liz Duss this weekend at the canteen. Tickets will be available at the door at full price.
The East Coast Eagles would like to congratulate Miriam Boe and Glenn Garner on the birth of their first son, Logan. While reports are sketchy at this stage, Garner was heard telling nurses "Yeah I'm really happy with Miriam's workrate today. She had a good birth plan going into the day and stuck through it till the end. We're really happy with that result and we'll move forward from here."
Logan (middle name TBA) was born at approximately 8am on monday morning weighing in at about 9 pounds. Both mother and son are doing well at Campbelltown Hospital.
The Eagles went into this game with just nine of the 22 who took the Premiership on this same ground seven months earlier. Injuries had forced Glenn Garner to select a cosmopolitan team to take the field against a side who will play finals football this year. Western Suburbs would most certainly test the eight Eagle youngsters who are yet to experience their 21st birthdays.
Anthony Stubbs was a late withdrawal and into the side came Carlton Scholarship holder Jake Pianta for his first Premier League game at age 17. Jake was certainly not overawed by the big league and won the plaudits of many. 16 year old Dominic Killworth continues to impress in his inaugural year with the Eagles having relocated from Tasmania, whilst 18 year old Daniel Spiteri is somewhat of a veteran now in his third season.
East Coast started superbly with a dream first quarter straight out of the box. Wests were arguably never going to recover from allowing this kind of start and played catch up football for the rest of the day. The 2009 Eagles’ Premiership backline is still reasonably intact with Ben Physick (pictured) allocated the task of keeping key Magpie full forward Matt Eurell quiet. After two successive hauls of eight goals, it was always going to be a big task, but Physick was well up to his minder duties with Eurell only managing two.
Rowan Bilkey was on fire having been given an almost free reign to roam across the defensive zone. His outstanding high marking and attacking football once again gave him Players’ Player honours after a similar performance the week before. Despite their best efforts in defence, at three quarter time the Eagles found themselves under all sorts of pressure with Wests drawing to within 15 points after a strong third term.
The perfect weather conditions gave neither side an advantage as the ball was bounced to start the final shoot out. The winner of this match would be the side who could run the game out the best and those young kids rose to the occasion for the Eagle on their chest. With old heads like Jamie Vlatko and Shane Ryan showing the way, East Coast weathered everything that was thrown at them, including yet another false fire alarm warning from the stands.
It was a gutsy victory and notwithstanding the injuries throughout the Club at the current time, credit must be given to all three senior teams who won their respective matches. In particular Sean Streat’s “Thirds” were perhaps the stars of the weekend when they knocked off the previously undefeated Moorebank on their home ground. In a highly entertaining game, the Eagles won going away by 33 points.
Round 5 next Saturday May 15th, finally sees all five teams playing at home on Bruce Purser Reserve in a plethora of football. First game is at 10.00am and the last at 7.00pm with the main Premier League match a twilight fixture against Campbelltown starting at 4.10pm.
East Coast Eagles6.39.311.713.7 (85)
Western Suburbs2.13.78.109.13 (67)
Goal Kickers: Jamie Vlatko 4, Peter Dugmore 2, Trent Baker 2, Ben Rogers, Kristian Pearson, Shane Ryan, Mike Beardsley, Daniel Spiteri. Best Players: Ben Physick, Rowan Bilkey, Jamie Vlatko, Shane Ryan, Daniel Spiteri, Jake Pianta.
As he entered the ground, he gazed around Drummoyne Oval to see the significant changes going on at the complex. A new grandstand and improved spectator facilities were being built, new powerful lighting is scheduled to soon be started and there was evidence of construction work everywhere. He had been to this picturesque ground on the Harbour five times since he joined the Eagles in 2004 for his first senior game, and today he was playing his 100th.
He wondered whether the extensive recruiting drive the Balmain Dockers had undertaken in the off-season would reflect the improvements off the field, but sadly, as he would find out three hours later, that was not to be the case. He proudly led his team onto the ground to recognise his milestone, but instead of taking up his familiar position of centre halfback, Glenn Garner had slotted him into full forward to replace the suspended Peter Dugmore.
The Eagles went into this game with just nine of the 22 who took the Premiership on this same ground seven months earlier. Injuries had forced Glenn Garner to select a cosmopolitan team to take the field against a side who will play finals football this year. Western Suburbs would most certainly test the eight Eagle youngsters who are yet to experience their 21st birthdays.
EAGLES KICK AN ALL-TIME RECORD SCORE
A commanding third quarter by the Magpies sees them take control of the game - Wests 14.10.94 Eagles 7.4.46
