The Eagles have had a number of practice matches over the past two weekends. The under 18s played two matches against Western Suburbs and Sydney university on March 13th, and Premier Cup Coach Peter Steer was happy with his team’s performance. Challenge Cup Coach Ryan Madden said his charges acquitted themselves well against a premier cup team. “We’ve had a lot of talented players leave under 18s from last year to go on to join the senior squad in 2010, so there are a few holes to fill in the Premier Cup team. We probably also have a few more guys in the Challenge Cup side pushing for selection in Premier Cup, which is great. It creates competition for spots at the top and will hopefully bring out the best in a number of our players.”
The Under 18s also played Pennant Hills last yesterday at Ern Holmes Oval. A total of 36 players were used over the course of the match, with Peter Steer keen to see as many players as he could. Steer was underwhelmed with his team’s performance on Sunday. “Perhaps the heat took some energy out of the boys, but they just didn’t seem to click. We have a few weeks to get them firing before round 1.” Tate Dimech, after playing in the senior side on Saturday, sustained a savage concussion throughout the match on Sunday and was later taken to hospital. “He will take a few weeks off over Easter and should hopefully be ok for our first match of the year.” Steer said of his midfielder.
The Senior squad have had a number of matches as well over the last two weekends. The first was a road trip to Canberra to play our regular pre-season opponents, Belconnen. The match was a 6 ‘quarter’ affair with both the Premier Division and First Division sides competing. Belconnen proved to be a superior outfit however senior coach Glenn Garner saw some promising signs from his inexperienced side.
On Saturday, all three senior sides travelled to Pittwater oval to take on the UTS Bats. The third grade side under the tutelage of Sean Streat, showed some promising signs and were happy with the result at the end of the day. First Division ran out at midday under a blazing sun, and the heat sapped a lot of energy from all players. A fairly even contest played out for the majority of the day, before UTS snagged a few late goals in the last quarter. The senior side then ran out and lined up with a vastly different side to the 2009 premiership team. Only 4 players from the Grand Final took the field on Saturday, Rowan Bilkey, Mark Maher, Damien Bowles and Ryan Fitton. However, with a host of new experienced players and a number of young players looking to cement a senior berth, the team had the better of UTS for much of the day. Peter Dugmore and Jamie Vlatko will look to form a formidable combination up front, while youngsters Dominic Killworth, Matt Power and Josh Shephard showed they all have potential to become damaging senior players.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the senior sides have one last match in preparation for the 2010 season proper, while the under 18s take the week off. Division three and division one will play the Norwest Jets at 10am and 12pm respectively, with the venue of that match to be confirmed. Please keep an eye on the website for further details.
Free Swans Tickets
The Premier Division team will play the Sydney Swans Reserves at ANZ Stadium on Saturday afternoon prior to the Sydney Swans v St Kilda match. Our match will kick off at 3.50pm. The club has also been provided with a number of tickets for the day, which will give you access to both the East Coast match and the Swans senior match. These tickets will be given away with the purchase of a ticket to the Jumper Presentation and must be picked up either at training this week or by getting in touch with Rowan Bilkey –
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Monday, 22 March 2010 10:14
The East Coast Eagles have partnered with long time supporter Base Course Management to continue the Base Course Management Player Scholarship Program in season 2010.
A commanding third quarter by the Magpies sees them take control of the game - Wests 14.10.94 Eagles 7.4.46
