Round Fourteen Men’s Premier Division Match Review, UTS Bats vs East Coast Eagles

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Written by Lachlan Scott

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First Quarter

Waverly Oval welcomed fans with a stunning July day promising even more stunning football. The siren sounds, the push and shove begins, the ball is bounced, and they’re off!

Plenty of feeling in this contest on and off the ball early. Everyone is copping their fair share of hip and shoulders, crunching tackles, and swinging arms. East Coast take some pace off the contest with short sharp kicks through the midfield but it’s breaking down every time they’re forced to handball as the Bats mids swarm and swamp them.

UTS is striking quickly forward from the turn overs and peppering the goals, no majors yet but looking incredibly dangerous if they put their kicking boots on. The Eagles haven’t been able to break through the defensive screen and find space forward so far this quarter. Fans and players alike feel the pressure mounting and neither side holds the ascendancy just yet.

Gordon and Foxall look to be the focal point early with both rucks taking plenty of contact in and around the contest. They’re the main targets out of defence and have been run ragged with ball up after ball up. Gordon has rest at least when the footy is forward for the Bats as perennial swingman Backlund looks to be staying down there to provide a tall option. Its paying off as Gordon earns 3 free kicks in a quarter as the Eagles batter themselves against him.

Its no use however as the Eagles defence holds up, thanks in no small part to Brown who tirelessly intercepts and shuts down any contest he can get his hands to. Backlund has looked the obvious target early, but Brown has stuck to him like glue and given him no breathing room.

East Coast are finally having some luck breaking through the defensive screen and immediately begin firing long bombs over the back to upset the established structure. It pays dividends as Jones drops back and finds himself facing the fury of four opponents in the marking contest. Eagerness outweighs composure as he is held down and earns himself a free kick directly in front 20m out. The siren sounds as he lines up, takes his full measure, calm and collected, and slams it home! Eagles get the first goal of the game after UTS maintained possession for most of the quarter.

Quarter Time UTS Bats 0.5.5 – East Coast Eagles 1.1.7

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Second Quarter

UTS continue to look threatening early but spray like sprinklers as they kick everywhere but between the posts and add to the tally of behinds. Kinny earns East Coast a 50m penalty on the wing and sprints down field to line up from about 60m out. To everyone’s amazement he runs around the man on the mark, who stands stock still dumbfounded. He fires off a long soaring torpedo which sails through just out of reach of the defender’s finger tips and suddenly the Eagles have 2! Nobody saw that coming, least of all the UTS defence. Don’t expect them to sleep on Kinny’s long-range skills any longer.

East Coast have certainly lifted early here in the second, the steady stream of Bats behinds has dried up as Poynter and Emanouel fly to intercept and cut short any forward forays. Their luck runs out however as Backlund steps into the ruck at the next ball up. He’s looked threatening all match and obviously fed up with the scoreline, he snatches the ball from the contest and slams it onto his boot faster than anyone can react. And it works! The footy miraculously eludes everything between Backlund’s boot and the goal umpire for the Bat’s first of the day. This could be the jumpstart they’ve been looking for to turn this match around.

UTS dives deep forward again from the centre bounce and Callahan earns himself a free right where the boundary meets the 50. He launches a high towering bomb goalward but the wind gets under it and it drops left. Backlund rises from the pack and claims it strongly above his head and he’ll line up next to the behind post. He contemplates his next move as the Eagles defenders lurk just outside the protected zone, ready to pounce as soon as the umpire calls play on. And the shortest footrace in history is on! The umpire calls play on, defenders leap with arms outstretched, Backlund steps once and kicks checkside. In the blink of an eye its all over as before the defenders land the Sherrin slams into the covers behind the goals and UTS have 2 for the quarter.

The scales seesaw as the quarter progresses, both sides trading 50m penalties as tempers sizzle and discipline evaporates for a moment. Gone are the short sharp kicks through the midfield, giving way to rapid fire handball chains and booming kicks out the back to one-on-ones. The Eagles fly forward first but their thrust is repulsed and in just 3 kicks its down the other end with Backlund in a footrace towards goal against his man. They jostle and lock arms as they approach the ball, Backlund flinging out a wild kick which connects with the footy sending it tumbling goalwards. The goal umpire assumes his sumo pose and shuffles all across the goal line as the dibbling ball stumbles all the way home. The Bats have 3 in a row!

East Coast must find a way to change the momentum and Organ takes it upon himself to do so. He dead sprints through the contest to run down his man and earn himself a holding the ball free kick. He collects the footy and looks to immediately play on but the man on the mark baulks and he’s got a 50m penalty. Hard work and gut running have paid off as he lines up from directly in from approximately 30m out. Not much time left on the clock, short run up, no waiting around, Organ places it directly through the big sticks to raucous Eagles cheers. East Coast holding strong here at half time in the face of a UTS side threatening to explode if they can hit their targets.

Half Time UTS Bats 3.8.26 – East Coast Eagles 3.1.19

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Third Quarter

Straight from the centre bounce UTS attack forward and bash a chaos ball through the Eagles defence to the pocket. The snap towards the goal square sees Backlund surrounded on all sides with arms outstretched. He can’t take it cleanly so sharks it from the ensuing chaos, snaps low and across his body. The goal umpire jumps out of the way as it rolls tenuously past. Before you can sit back down from spending some gold coins at the tuck shop he’s scored. Goal to the Bats in less than a minute!

Rinder and Dyson start carving their way through the midfield for UTS, spotting targets and slicing kicks up the ground. The final kick comes to Gordon near the 50m arc and as he turns to face goal, he’s collected high and falls heavily to the ground. Looking slightly groggy, he takes his full measure of run up and time. And he’s absolutely spanked it! We knew he was a long kick, but this is ridiculous, the ball soaring well over the required distance and Gordon reaping the reward for courage in the face of contact.

East Coast start to lean on their accurate field kicking again to take the steam out of the contest, Gauci directing traffic and tempo, Organ breaking lines and gaining metres. It can’t last forever though, and they walk away empty handed from multiple forward 50 entries, unable to capitalise. The Bats again put the pedal to the metal and fly up the near side wing through long kicks over the back of contests and a well-practiced ability to collect the footy off the deck. The final kick sees Backlund with space on his opponent running away from goals. He breaks right and his opponent continues straight. With pinpoint precision the kick find’s Backlund’s chest 30m out at a slight angle. As expected at this point, the kick for goal is no issue and the goal umpire waves their flags. A barnstorming start to the second half here for UTS.

Lee and Barry-Murphy strive and thrive at the coalface, mining the Sherrin out from the pack and distributing it with rapid-fire handballs outside. Again the Bats go forward through a long kick over the back and East Coast don’t seem to have the answers. Pribula turns up the heat and applies tackle after tackle to finally force an error for the defence, earning a free kick from a throw. As everyone settles in for his kick on goal he jumps the gun, runs around the man and snaps truly for his first of the day. Another goal for the Bats, the Eagles need to find some answers and fast.

East Coast’s kicking from defence has been relatively solid so far today but now it falls flat. Multiple UTS shots on goal are returned to the forward 50 in quick succession through intercept marking and dropped balls. The straw that breaks the camels back is an intercept right at the top of the 50 which is handballed into space and plonked right onto the chest of Lahey steaming out from goal like a freight train. Nothing gets in his way as he takes the mark, clutching the ball to his chest expecting contact. Slow walk in, makes the goal umpire work for it but battles the wind and sneaks it through. UTS have 5 in a row in a dominating performance here in the third.

UTS transition out of the defence through a well-executed switch, push it through the middle with a rapid handball chain, find the man outside the contest who spots Backlund who’s been on fire all day. He’s stuck in a quagmire of contact, but the kick is well placed to his side and out of reach of his opponent. He collects deftly, turns his man, flicks a kick along the ground that rumbles, stumbles, and tumbles its way through and over the goal line. 6 unanswered goals for UTS and this game has been broken wide open.

Three Quarter Time UTS Bats 9.13.67 – East Coast Eagles 3.2.20

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Fourth Quarter

East Coast’s defence have battled manfully today but just haven’t been able to put the brakes on this UTS forward outfit. This time the forward entry comes from a snapped ball squeezed out of the contest. Kimpton has milliseconds to respond, turns and stops, puts his body between his opponent, and marks with sublime skill. He takes a long run up for the kick from right on the 50, pulls out the 9-iron and launches a mammoth drive straight over the goal umpire’s head. The Bats continue their feeding frenzy early here in the last.

The Eagles midfield haven’t slouched either, fantastic tackling by Brown, Wilson, Sandy and Coxall all power their next drive downfield. Every time a UTS mid is getting their hands on the ball they’re being swarmed on all sides. Incredible effort for so late in the game. And the pressure pays off as it always does. Midfield kick comes to the contest at the top of the arc, ball squeezes out the back, Fokes is first to it. He collects the haywire ball below his knees like he’s got it on a string. Spins, Snaps, Goal! East Coast get one back as Yellow and Blue fans make their voices heard.

They’ve thrown the playbook out the window and it seems to be working for them. No more dinky kicks out of defence and through the midfield, now it’s all long bombs and screaming runs through traffic. Bradley breaks from the contest quicker than greased lightning, takes a bounce, sees players streaming back towards goal and puts the kick out in from of them. Brown arrives on the scene first and with a force majeure only an AFL footy can deliver, the ball bounces directly from the deck into his hands as he sprints past. Not one to question miracles, he snaps across his body immediately and thumps it high over the umpire’s head straight through the big sticks. Another one on the trot for East Coast!

The Eagles have all the momentum now, again diving forward through rapid handball chains and they weave through traffic. The final kick is stopped on the goal line by Bowler but the kick out of defence is intercepted the moment it reaches the midfield. Forwards are leading with zeal everywhere forward of the ball, finally the kick finds Fokes loitering with intent across the forward 50 arc. The breeze is with him as his teammates point towards the goals egging him on. He needs no encouragement to kick long as we’ve seen throughout the season. And with good reason! The kick is straight as an arrow and never looks in doubt as it travels the required 60m. The clock might beat them here in the last but East Coast have made a fantastic showing of themselves here in the last.

UTS show look back to be back to their old ways as they lock it forward and pepper the goals with behinds. They’re eating the remaining clock however and the Eagles know it. Their next possession is frantic and frenetic. Gauci breaks from the contest, hits up Delana just outside the forward 50. The defence swarms him but he spins his way out of trouble and fires deep forward towards Emanouel in hope. Emanouel has considerable height on his opponent and uses it to his advantage. He plants his feet directly under the drop of the ball and won’t be moved, marking with surety well above his head directly in front. The kick for goal is never in doubt and he slots it with ease to put a final stamp on this Eagles late revival.

Tough day at the office for East Coast, to their credit they can be proud of their gut running and fitness all day. They went missing for just one quarter but that’s all UTS needed to break this game wide open thanks to Backlund’s big day out.

Full Time UTS Bats 10.18.78 – East Coast Eagles 7.6.48

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Final Scores:

Team Name: UTS Bats 10.18.78

Goal Kickers: A. Backlund 6, T. Gordon, J. Kimpton, H. Lahy, L. Pribula.

Best: Ash Backlund, Liam Gordon, Louis Pribula, Sam Bowler, Ben Durkin, Harrison Dyson

Team Name: East Coast Eagles 7.6.48

Goal Kickers: N. Fokes 2, S. Brown, N. Emanouel, J. Jones, B. Kinney, T. Organ.

Best: Marshall Poynter, Jacob Jones, Harrison Elbourne, Daniel Gauci, Joshua Gleeson, Nathan Fokes