Whittlesea proved far too good for Diamond Creek in the Division 2 top of the table clash to move back into top place on the ladder.
The Eagles dominated the opening three quarters to claim an impressive 13.23 (101) to 10.7 (67) victory at the Whittlesea Showgrounds.
The margin should have been far greater but for wasteful kicking – particularly in the third term when the Eagles booted 2.10 to Diamond Creek’s two straight goals.
Disappointed with his team’s work-rate in its 22-point loss to North Heidelberg seven days earlier, Whittlesea coach Peter Bugden was impressed with his side’s improved efforts this week.
With Dale Saddington (ankle) and Matt Gersh (hamstring) both injured in the first term, Bugden praised his side’s ability to work hard for four quarters despite limited rotations off the bench.
“I’m very proud of their efforts,” Bugden said post-game.
“To lose Gershy and Saddo – two very important players for us in the makeup of our team – very early on and still play the way we did was fantastic.
Bugden paid particular praise to ruckman Matther Bekker who was magnificent in the absence of first-choice ruckman Jeremy Page, and defender Matthew Atta who kept Brent Gutterson goalless.
“I was very impressed with Bekks today,” Bugden said of ruckman Bekker who was adjudged the Narallen Pools Player of the Day.
“It was certainly his best game for the year. In Jeremy’s absence for him to step up like that is a real credit to him.”
The Eagles raced out of the blocks in the opening term but didn’t fully convert their dominance into scoreboard pressure. Courtesy of two goals to Paul Harrison and another to Glenn Poorter, they booted three goals to one in the first quarter to take a 14-point buffer into the first change.
Co-captain Garrett Heenan racked up a heap of the footy through the midfield, while Bekker made his presence felt with big pack marks around the ground.
The home side further asserted its dominance in the second quarter, booting five of the opening six goals to race to a 40-point lead.
Quiet during the opening 30 minutes of the game, Andrew Fairchild (five goals) kicked two goals while Paul Harrison served a 15-minute timeout for a yellow card, while Riley Dyson booted a lovely goal on his left boot.
Lucas Hobbs was superb across half forward, while down back Atta continually brought the ball to ground level for Brent Toll and Todd Behan to then race it out of defence.
Completely outplayed for the entire first half, Diamond Creek was able to reduce the half time margin to 34 points when Rikki Stephens outpaced Nathan Stefanile to put through a running goal after a coast-to-coast play from a kick-out.
Despite the best efforts of Tyrone Loader and Graeme Brown the Demons simply could not make further inroads on the scoreboard. They did kick two of the first three goals of the third term, however their movements inside 50m were rare which didn’t give their forwards the opportunity to kick a winning score.
The Eagles’ inaccuracy in front of goals was the story of the third term. They kicked 10 behinds for the quarter – which included a run of eight consecutive behinds without the visitors scoring. That chain was broken by Fairchild’s third goal after the three quarter time siren.
Diamond Creek then booted the opening two goals of the final term through Jai Norman and Stephens to trim the margin to 32 points, however Hobbs ended any hopes of an unlikely comeback when he kicked truly from a 35m set shot.
With four wins from the opening five rounds, the Eagles sit in top place by percentage over North Heidelberg. They now prepare for a trip to fifth-placed Hurstbridge this week before hosting Fitzroy Stars in Round 7.
Diamond Creek slipped from first to third as a result of the loss and will be looking to return to the winners’ list this Saturday when it hosts Mernda at Coventry Oval.
Final score: Whittlesea 13.23 (101) def Diamond Creek 10.7 (67)
