Australian Football

Match Report

The final game for the weekend would take place on the Sunday afternoon with a top-of-the-table clash at the Maughan Thiem Kia Oval in Woodville between the Eagles and the Tigers. Their last stoush was back in Round 2 at Glenelg, were not even a inaccuracy-laden first half from the Tigers stopped them taking the points. The Eagles had better accuracy, but not enough of the attack. The Tigers improved upon their shooting for goal in the second half, scoring 11 goals to six to take a 29-point win. Before their byes last weekend, the Eagles hammered the Magpies in a 68-point revenge trip at Alberton, while the Tigers downed old rivals North by 23. Still undefeated at this point, the Tigers could go one better than their 1981 record and go 11 games straight from the season opener. 

The Oval Avenue turf was marked by a fair few muddy sections thanks to downpours earlier, so it wasn't going to be fast football but more tactical. The Tigers dominated much of the opening term's forward forays, but some attacks fell short of max rewards as they scored 3.2. The Eagles had a late chance to level things up at the first change but went wide, their 2.3 saw them down by five points at quarter-time. The Eagles were able to quieten the Tigers in the second term, something few have been able to do in a single term this year. Held to a mere two behinds, the Eagles forged into the lead by the long break with their 2.4 to lead by nine points at half-time. The dirty scrap resumed in the third term as the Tigers fought their way back to within a kick of the lead ahead of the final change. Despite spurning a few chances for majors, a last minute goal to Glenelg brought the gap back to a point come three quarter-time after kicking 3.3 to the home side's 2.1. A tense battle ensued in the first 12 minutes as the two sides traded scores on the board, the Tigers hit the front at eight minutes before the Eagles levelled. But after the 16th, the game belonged to the visitors. Altogether the Bays scored 5.2 to two goals, leaving the Eagles' nest with a 19-point victory and therefore setting a new club record of consecutive wins from Round 1 onwards. 

In the best on ground honours, for Glenelg it was Luke Partington with 27 disposals and five tackles, while in the Eagles camp it went to Riley Knight with 24 disposals and eight tackles.