Australian Football

Match Report

The final match to round out the Saturday would take place under the twilight sky and lights of Maughan Thiem Kia Oval in Woodville, where the Eagles clashed with the Double Blues. Its funny how last year's games turned out considering the Eagles didn't finish in the finals, but Sturt did. The Eagles were victorious in both games of 2022, with a 49-point beating at Unley in Round 8 and a seven-point win at Woodville in Round 18. That second encounter was a struggle and a half, with only 10 goals from 29 scoring shots. Long story short, the Eagles made more of their chances while the Blues butchered a lot of their own. The Eagles have won the past six games against the Blues, with that seven-point win the closest and 51 points the highest which was back in Round 2 of 2020. From last week's games, the Eagles dropped a third game on the trot with their loss to North, while the Blues were challenged by a plucky Centrals but got away with a three-point win at home. The Blues started off best with better accuracy on goal but perhaps could have had more on the board if not for some scrappy defending from the Eagles. A late goal kept the home side well within striking distance, the board reading 4.1 to 2.2 with the Blues leading by 11 points at the change. The accuracy went astray for the Blues in the second term, but the Eagles went missing for the bulk of the quarter as Sturt kicked out to a five-goal lead by the half-time siren having added 3.8 to 1.1. The goal-kicking yips would continue for the Blues, but for a big period of the third term the Eagles were still having trouble busting through the Sturt defenders. The Blues would kick to a lead of 40 points going into extra time after scoring 3.4 to two goals. But a trio of late majors to the home side had the gap back to 22 points at the final change. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they couldn't maintain the tempo in the last quarter, the Eagles could only match the Blues scoring with both teams kicking 2.2 to leave the three quarter-time deficit unchanged in the end. The Blues would continue their winning start to the season, winners by 22 points. James Battersby continues to lead by example, he was Sturt's best with 28 disposals, 12 clearances and seven tackles. The Eagles named Connor Ballenden as their standout, with 17 disposals, nine marks and five goals.