Eagles draw line under finals spot

By Paul Pickering
A DRAMATIC draw was enough for the Doveton Eagles to secure the last remaining finals berth in Southern Football League Division Three competition on Saturday.
After snaring a vital two points against Skye, the Eagles shut the door on cross-town rival Dandy Demons by opening up a six-point break with one round left.
Trailing the Bombers by a solitary behind with three minutes left, Eagles captain Paul Davis marked the ball 20 metres out and directly in front of goal.
While Davis’ kick sent the goal umpire charging to his left, the skipper was confident he had slotted through a crucial major.
The goal umpire, however, had other ideas, signalling a behind to leave the Eagles on tenterhooks in the dying minutes.
With the scoreboard at Steve Thompson Oval wrongly displaying that the Eagles were in front by a point, Doveton coach Jason Salerno sent a water boy over to have the score corrected while the runner passed on the message to the players.
Aware that a draw would likely sew up fourth spot, Salerno threw numbers back in the final moments to protect the tied score.
“It was a good two points to get in the end,” Salerno said.
After trailing by 15 points at half-time, the Eagles clawed their way back into the contest, largely through the efforts of 18-year-old Gus Toolepai in the second half.
The young gun was dominant in the ruck and regularly surged into attack to complement the Eagles’ dangerous forward structure.
Illusive on-baller Brett Hidgcock was again in Doveton’s best, running his opponents into the ground as the game wore on.
In front of goals, Brett Reid booted three majors for the Eagles, while Mark Mussared continued a consistent season for the Bombers with three of his own.
With the finals positioning wrapped up with one round to play, the Eagles will now face third-placed Black Rock on consecutive weekends.
While Salerno was reluctant to declare Saturday’s clash a dead rubber, he conceded that neither side could gain much more than some finetuning.
Black Rock has looked dangerous all year, but Salerno is confident his Eagles’ young legs can expose the Rockers on expansive grounds at Doveton and Mordialloc over the coming fortnight.
Dandy Demons v Mount Waverley
THE finals aspirations of the injury-ravaged Dandy Demons were finally put to rest at Mount Waverley on Saturday, with the ladder-leading Mountain Lions never challenged en-route to a 74-point victory.
The undermanned Demons couldn’t reprise their role as Mount Waverley’s serial tormentor over the past two years, failing to make any inroads into a five-goal first-quarter deficit.
Despite a four-goal game from Eddie Connor, the Demons lacked potency going forward, largely due to the absence of sidelined star David Black.
Shane Mleczek, Daniel Jarman and Visal Walallawita all contributed workmanlike performances, but couldn’t stop the Demons from suffering their fourth consecutive loss.
Sandown Cobras v Black Rock
THE Sandown Cobras were effectively handed the Division Three wooden spoon on Saturday with an 89-point loss at Black Rock.
While the Cobras are one win ahead of cellar-dwelling South Yarra, that gap will be closed this week as the Yarras are awarded four points for a final-round bye.
Meanwhile, only a miracle could save Sandown from a percentage-crushing loss to Mount Waverley.