Round 6

May 30th – Round 6
Burnaby Eagles vs Delta Bay Hawks
D.W Poppy Secondary School
Langley

It has been quite some time since the Eagles had been out on the paddock. A months worth of a slow schedule and game cancellations had seen a tough period for 2009’s undefeated team.

It was with enthusiasm and some anxiety that the Eagles were looking forward to this game. With all Eagles players stripped and ready to go by 12.30 it was to great surprise come 1pm that only a handful of Delta Hawks players had arrived. It was not until 15 minutes past the hour that the Delta team ascended on the field and just in time for the first bounce. With great football spirit the Eagles kindly volunteered two of its veteran players for the benefit of the Delta Bay Hawks.

Thanks to the Massage therapist for having us all ready in tip top shape.

The extended warm up afforded to the Eagles by the lateness of the away teams arrival clearly gave the Eagles the leading edge. A strong warm up on a hot day like this was going to be crucial. Any team that could get a lead would be in control all day.

Coach Bell had been persistent over the last few weeks. His phone calls to players at all hours to “just see how you are doing” and his marshalling of the 3km time trials kept all players enthused.

Now it was game time – it was business. The Eagles were back and the boys were pumped for a strong, hard battle.

The first bounce saw Connor take charge in the ruck. His skillful work led the way in the centre to fellow Canadian Jimmy and Bergs. Connors take charge style of play was the basis of many attacking raids. With a move to the forward line Canadian Dale Handley was keen to impress – it took him no time at all to get 3 goals and many strong marks that may also have been converted had he kicked truly. It was good to see Mike Wennagel back at his best with elusive moves and a cardio component to his game that sees opposition left far behind. With persistence the Delta Hawks kept pressing and penetrated deep to forward Scott Flemming. He kicked truly to get the Hawks first. The next Hawks raid saw experienced defender Tickets use his body to perfect a mark and switch the ball with precision to the running Jimmy and on to Matt Piljek. Piljek has really impressed the boys over the past few weeks and should be a real threat come finals. His all business, no-nonsense work ethic makes seasoned veterans look lazy.

The second quarter was a similar affair. Che Pritchard arrived and took up a position in the forward line. He was well supported by Stephen Wolfe who contributed with a couple of goals and his best game for the season. Gary Barone was his usual strong self. He has a knack for getting in the right position to protect his team mates and on this day he supported the players with many great shepherds. Luke McKerrow at CHF was also in good form. His running ability and silky skills were pretty to watch. Coach Bell called for him to carry the ball and play with more confidence and he certainly did this in the second quarter getting a very pretty goal and numerous goal assists. A mention must go to Robin McDonald and Jimmy for their play on Scott Flemming – they held him to only 1 goal and a handful of touches. The first time this year he has been restricted to this extent. Despite the widening score line it was impressive to see them stick to their game plan. Chris Freeman was very handy and led the way forward many times. His ability to find himself in space is exceptional and is no doubt influenced by Collingwood’s style of play. At the half time break coach Bell urged Freeman to “increase his hard ball gets” and “not be on the receiving end so often”.

Not enough can be said for the defense on this day. It is hard to stay focused when the ball is so often in your attacking half. It would have been easy for the boys to go ball searching and get lost up the field looking for a goal. The discipline of Steve Gibson, Scott Gregory, Peter Taylor, Tickets, Steven Harper and Adam Sadler was exceptional. They followed the plan to a tee and made it possible for our forwards to get the ball as often as they did. The dash of Sadler was sensational and the wise words of Pete Taylor calling troops back into defense is always welcomed. Scott Gregory was fantastic in the air as he out marked opponents many inches taller than he and the entire defensive team can be attributed to providing great switches into attack.

Special mention to the Eagles ‘kick in’ team. The number of different kick in plays we ran on the weekend left the opposition confused and disoriented. This left us with ample time to transfer the ball through the called play. Well Done and keep practicing these plays.

It was a great all around team effort. The hard work the boys had put in over the last few weeks paid off with a great victory.

Next week will see us travel to Kelowna – a great hunting ground for the Eagles, during both day and night.

A final mention to Che Pritchard – Congratulations on being the fastest man in BCFooty. He not only won the race by 16 lengths but finished by running backwards for the last few metres. Rumour has it that this will be discussed with the rules board at the next league meeting as some feel the “backwards running was not in line with league sprint competition rules”. Also not looking favorably on Pritchard is that he failed to stay to complete his required urine screening sample to test for performance enhancing drugs. He was last seen speeding off on a motorcycle shortly after the race.

Final Score:
EAGLES 19.17.131 defeated Delta Bay Hawks 2.4.16

Goalkickers:
3 – Dale Handley
2 – Stephen Wolfe
2 – Brenton Garth
2 – Chris Freeman
1 – Luke McKerrow
1 – Pete Taylor
1 – Mike Wennegal
1 – Steve Harper
1 – Ryan McKenzie
1 – Dale Wakefield
1 – Dane Bergman
1 – Jim Oertel
1 – Che Pritchard
1 – Chad Cook