Australian Football

Match Report

Up the Main North Road and over to Port Road as far as Woodville, the Eagles hosted the Roosters at Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval. It was back in Round 7 that these teams last exchanged feathers, the Eagles flew into Prospect and left with the points following a 44-point victory. The Eagles have gone on to finish minor premiers and are almost certain to take out the Stanley H. Lewis Trophy, while the Roosters will have a wooden spoon for their dismal showing in 2015. However, this match may have inadvertently shown their fellow finals participants some holes in the top side for the year... or maybe it was a case of nothing to lose for North.

After the Eagles started off with a dominant first term which saw them kick 5.1 to 1.2 to lead by 23 points at the first change, they seemed to switch off. But while the Roosters were able to run hard, they lacked the one thing that really mattered. Scoreboard impact. It was that alone that allowed the Eagles to extend their lead to 31 points by the long break, they kicked 2.2 to North's one goal. There would be no doubt that opposition coaches would want vision of this match, if the Roosters could slow them up then what could other teams do come finals? By the final change, the Roosters would manage to chip a point off the Eagles' half-time lead. Just imagine what could have been if they could have turned 1.2 into three goals against the home sides' 1.1. It could have been just three goals instead of five! But the Eagles would still win the day, a further 2.4 to 1.1 would see them off to a 39-point win.

Jake Von Bertouch was named best for the Eagles, while the Roosters named Marlon Motlop as their best.