Eagles‘ last-gasp play at making final five
EAST Geelong coach Jeremy Power says his side is ready to embrace a potential finals appearance after Anakie turned the GDFL top five on its head on Saturday.
The Roos pulled off a stunning upset, beating Winchelsea by 41 points, to leave the fifth-placed Blues just two points inside the top five with one round remaining.
The sixth-placed Eagles held up their end of the bargain in the scramble for fifth place, cruising to a 66-point win over Belmont to sit poised for a stunning surge into the top five.
It sets up a blockbuster final round, with East Geelong (36 points) needing to beat 10thplaced Bell Post Hill, and then hope Winchelsea (38 points) loses to ladder leader Thomson, to make the finals.
East Geelong is suddenly favoured by the final-round fixtures and should start favourite against the Panthers at Myers Reserve.
Winchelsea still controls its fate, but must cause a boilover against the Tigers to be assured of the finals berth it seemingly held all year before hitting the skids late.
In the event that either side has a draw on Saturday and are tied on points, Winchelsea has the superior percentage.
Power said his side was excited at the prospect of being in the hunt for the club’s first finals berth since 2014.
“We didn’t resign ourselves to playing finals, we just said, ‘If it works out, it works out’,” Power said. “So we still have to get our bit done, like we did this week and then hopefully things go our way. We are really excited to be in a position where this game matters.
“(Bell Post Hill) is a real live one for us. If we win, we get a chance to play finals, if we lose, we don’t.
“I don’t think there’s a need for any more motivation.”
Eagle Jack Elliot bagged five goals in what could be a season-defining win for the Eagles, who have been one of the stories of the season. The home side was never troubled against Belmont, leading at every break to secure a 15.11 (101) to 5.5 (35) win.
Tim McLennan and John McIntyre were named as East Geelong’s two best players, while the Eagles had three other multiple goalkickers.
Power said he was confident his playing group was mature enough to deal with the expectation that would come next round.
“The expectation has been a funny one (this season). We want to win now and that’s been the change … winning is important to us, we want that feeling,” Power said
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