EAGLEHAWK coach Josh Bowe has praised his players’ steely determination after winning their grand final rematch against Strathfieldsaye at Canterbury Park.
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The Hawks gained some semblance of revenge for their 32-point defeat in last season’s grand final, to win their opening round encounter 12.12 (84) to 8.11 (59).
Eaglehawk led at every change and for the bulk of the contest.
A pair of early second quarter goals to Bendigo Pioneers star Bailey Henderson and sharpshooter Lachlan Sharp gave the Storm an eight-point lead, but the Hawks were able to wrest back the momentum through goals of their own to Riley Saunders and Riley McIvor.
Another to the Hawks from Jesse Collins following an intercept mark and neat pass from Gedd Hommelhoff, matched by a second to Henderson for the Storm, ensured Eaglehawk went to the break with an eight point advantage.
The Hawks set up their victory with a three goal to nil third quarter, led by a dominant midfield featuring Jesse and Brodie Collins, Ben McPhee and league newcomer Jack Fallon, who impressed in his first BFNL game following a switch from Sunraysia league club Merbein.
Josh Martyn gave Storm followers early hope with the opening goal of the final term, but steadiers from McIvor, Fallon and Brodie Collins sealed a hard-fought 25-point win.
Hawks coach Josh Bowe said his side was grateful for a quick opportunity to part-avenge their grand final loss.
“When we viewed the fixture, getting a crack a Strathfieldsaye first-up, we were pretty happy,” he said.
“We were keen to take up that challenge and now really happy to get the job done.
“It was a game of surges, one team would get a bit of a run on and then the other.
“We tried to address that at half time and wanted a bit more consistency, fortunately we were able to do that.”
Bowe praised a ‘dynamic’ performance from McIvor, who led all players with four goals, and the first-up effort of Fallon, whose inclusion adds flexibility to a strong Hawks’ midfield.
Perhaps no Hawks player had more influence than Glenn Daley, who rebounded strongly across half back and used the ball particularly well in the trying conditions.
A loss for the Storm was further soured by a hamstring injury to reigning league medallist Sharp, who did not appear after half time.
New coach Troy Coates said the full extent of Sharp’s injury would not be known until the gun forward underwent scans on Monday.
“One-hundred and 40 goals last year, he’s obviously a pretty big avenue to the scoreboard for us,” Coates said.
“We are just going to have to manage that and find another way to goal now.”
Naturally disappointed to open the season with a loss, Coates, who has joined the Storm after previously leading Kerang to four Central Murray league flags, believed a new-look Storm was a work in progress with much upside.
“We’ve changed our plan and structure a bit and we’ve got some new faces, there’s been a turnover of players so it’s going to take a while for it all to come together,” he said.
“But that’s footy. It’s only round one and we know we have a lot of upside to come in our group.”
