Australian Football

Match Report

The first game of round eight took fans to the Coopers Stadium for some Friday Night Mayhem between the Redlegs and the Eagles. The 2013 matches between these two were a tit-for-tat affair, with the victories coming for the visiting side on both occasions -- the Eagles winning at Norwood in Round 4 and the 'Legs at Woodville in Round 22. From the previous 13 encounters, the Redlegs have won eight to the Eagles' seven. Despite their win against the Crows last week, the Redlegs for all intents and purposes haven't threatened anyone above them since their Round 1 win against Port and the Eagles were highly fancied for this one.

However, the Redlegs were a handful for the Eagles early on in the evening, as both sides kicked 4.1 each to start the night's proceedings. The second term was comparably dull in terms of scores, inaccuracy sneaking into the two camps as behinds made created a deficit going into the half-time break. Norwood would hold a one-point lead at this point after they added 1.3 to the Eagles' 1.2. The Redlegs seemed to be well in control when play resumed, getting out to a 16-point lead part way through the third term, but the Eagles would bag the next five goals and two behinds. Continued inaccuracy by the Redlegs in that quarter saw them kick 2.5 as the visitors took a 14-point lead at the final change. The home side made a desperate run at the Eagles in the final quarter, but 3.3 wouldn't be enough in the end, the Eagles' 1.4 would be enough to secure them a three-point victory.

Luke Jarrad was named best afield for the Eagles, while the Redlegs named Sam Baulderstone as their best.