Eagles dominate in battle of big birds

Collie Eagles coach Clint Swallow praised his team’s spread of goalkickers after a percentage-boosting 77-point win over Busselton on Sunday.

The Eagles dominated all day on their home ground and were never threatened in their 17.9 (111) to 4.10 (34) win over last season’s premiers.

Four goals each from Paul Rinder and Jayce Fontana, three from Adam Bignell and two each from recruits Jake Rodgers and Clinton Garlett ensured Collie had multiple scoring options which Busselton’s defence could not cope with.

Swallow said he was “happy with the way we are going” and was pleased his side kicked more than 100 points, believing they needed to kick “reasonable scores” to make inroads on the league’s top five teams.

Collie also spent much of the game in their attacking half, constantly repelling Busselton’s attempts to move out of half-back and ensuring the Magpies’ forwards often cut lonely figures.

Brendan Cribb battled hard in Busselton’s forward line though and kicked two goals from his limited opportunities.

Swallow said his team had made a conscious attempt to zone Busselton in and it worked effectively, giving the home side’s forward line almost unlimited opportunities while starving the Magpies of any supply.

Michael Florio was excellent for Collie while the likes of Joel Mahar and Mat Michael also played their roles.

Both sides favoured their marking targets and many of the afternoon’s goals came from set shots.

Fontana was the star of an unattractive first half, kicking three of his four goals including one after the half-time siren.

The scoreline was only five goals to one at the main break but the Eagles’ 27-point half-time lead already looked a match-winning one based on their territorial dominance.

A run of eight unanswered goals between the first and third quarters put the game beyond Busselton.

Swallow was pleased with how his side responded to last week’s narrow loss to Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault, putting an emphasis on taking their chances after only kicking 4.10 from 38 inside-50s in Brunswick.

In the second half, the Eagles certainly took their chances against an overworked and tiring defence.

Five goals in the third term and seven in the last ensured the final margin reflected Collie’s superiority, with two goals in succession from Bignell getting the crowd excited.

The first of these was kicked off the ground in heavy congestion and the second was a booming long-range shot from beyond the 50m arc.

Rodgers kicked a goal after the final siren to extend the winning margin to 77 points, ensuring this was the Eagles’ biggest of their five wins so far this season.