Wollongong made the long trek up the Princes Highway to Bruce Purser Reserve for their first ever visit to the Eagles’ nest in Rouse Hill. An overcast day with intermittent showers greeted the Lions and it proved to be a long and difficult day for them with heavy defeats in all grades.

 

At Premier Division level, East Coast had a number of players on the injury list and were then further depleted in the first three minutes when playing coach Glenn Garner tore a calf muscle taking no further part in the game. The remaining players rallied however and although the Lions took it up to the local side on occasions, the Eagles were always in control in a rather lacklustre first half. They led by 24 points at quarter time and 38 at half-time, but an explosive third quarter saw them dominate the game kicking seven goals, four of which came from the Seebeck boot. Big Gus was again in stellar touch finishing with 6-2 to take his tally to 50 goals from the first eight matches.

 

Aaron Byerlee won the best player honours from both the match committee and his fellow players with an exceptional display, alternating between defence and attack with Garner shifting him at will to potential trouble spots. Seebeck was strong all day whilst captain Jon Vlatko maintained his consistently good form to again provide the forwards with plenty of the football.

 

During a rain swept last quarter, the massive Bruce Purser lights were switched on at 4.00pm to enable the spectators to see the Eagles wrap up the match by 80 points to maintain their undefeated 8-0 record and sit alone at the top of the ladder.

 

The final scores were:

 

Goal Kickers: 

 

The Sydney AFL competition takes a mid-season break next week, but the Eagles will be back in action at 2.10pm on Saturday, June 13 against UNSW-Eastern Suburbs at the Village Green oval within the Uni NSW grounds at Randwick.           

 

Bruce Purser Reserve however will be in use next Saturday, June 6 when interstate U/18 football comes to the Hills. At 10.00am NSW/ACT takes on Vic Metro followed by the SA and Queensland clash at 12.30pm. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

 

In other matches played on Saturday, the Division 1 Eagles (Reserve Grade) gave the hapless Lions a football lesson winning by a comprehensive 145 points. Ash Moeller with four was the leading goal kicker of the thirteen Eagles who contributed goals. After winning the last three consecutive premierships at this level, the Eagles now sit fourth on the ladder, gradually sneaking back up after a poor start.  Steve Merkel, returning to football after a three year absence, was best for the Eagles, ably supported by Matt Arbon, Cory Durie and James Ford.

 

The final scores were:

East Coast 23.22 (160)

 

The East Coast and Wollongong U/18 Premier Cup sides clashed in the early game at 10.00am. In a display which had seasoned supporters mesmorised, the Eagles played outstanding football to simply destroy the Lions, who had arrived confident of a victory given their fifth ranking on the ladder. The final margin of 106 points was indicative of just how good these kids were. “Their display of skills was the best I have seen for many years”, said a proud coach, Peter Steer.   

 

Carlton scholarship listed Jake Pianta starred with eight goals while Damon Steer was at his best with five, before being stretchered from the field.  

 

The final scores were:

East Coast 21.5 (131)

 

In the fourth match of the day, the East Coast Division 2 team went down to Macquarie Uni by 36 points, but not before they had given the Warriors a few early frights. Mac Uni, with only the one loss for the season, should have won easily on paper, but they hadn’t reckoned on the determination of Sean Streat’s lads. Led superbly by Chris Moore, they took it right up to the opposition to provide an entertaining spectacle for the evening crowd.      

 

The final scores were:

Macquarie Uni 7.19 (61)

 

In the final match, the Under 18 Challenge Cup boys were given the honour of playing at primetime. They bounced the ball at 7.00pm in front of a good crowd who had remained from the earlier games.

 

And didn’t the lads welcome the limelight. Having lost their last five matches by less than two goals, hopes were high that they would give Ryan Madden his first victory as coach. What followed was unimaginable, with a team who couldn’t crack a win triumphing by an extraordinary 91 points, thrilling the faithful whilst doing so. Not only that, they held Macquarie Uni goalless as the rain tumbled down over a brilliantly lit arena.   

 

The win propelled them from off the bottom of the ladder to seventh spot with a percentage of 99.72%. Although the old adage of “all played well” is appropriate, best players were Kyle Healy, Robert Goisisi and Michael Clinch.

 

The final scores were: