Football: Eaton set for biggest test

Eaton Boomers onballer Kieran Butcher is expecting this weekend’s battle against Augusta-Margaret River to be his unbeaten team’s toughest test yet.

Ahead of Sunday’s first versus second contest, Butcher said the talent-laden Boomers were brimming with enough confidence to defeat anyone in the competition.

“We feel the only people that can defeat us is ourselves if we get too ahead of ourselves,” he said.

“We need to stay switched on and keep a lid on it.”

Eaton has taken all before it so far in 2013 and made a significant statement last weekend with an 85-point dismantling of reigning premiers Busselton in the wet.

Relishing footy after his first pre-season in three years, Butcher flagged more improvement for the Boomers in the coming weeks.

“We all keep picking out different things we can get better at,” he said.

“We have a lot of players who are not playing at their full capacity yet.

“We’re still building up and we reckon we’ve got a fair way to go.”

Meanwhile, the Hawks could be buoyed by several inclusions for Sunday’s clash at Glen Huon Reserve.

Midfielders Jeremy Humm and Jon Eastwell are both chances to return after missing multiple weeks.

Augusta-Margaret River captain Jake Cassidy said Humm, the reigning Hayward medallist, was a certain starter while Eastwell (hamstring) was a 50 per cent chance.

Cassidy said Ben Noakes, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury in round two, is unlikely to return.

The two clubs played off in the Hungry Jacks Pre-Season Carnival grand final, where the Boomers claimed a six-point victory in the shortened game.

Cassidy said his team was hoping to turn that around.

“We want to be super competitive and try to work on our structures and game plans and zones,” he said.

“When we played Eaton in the pre-season grand final their zone was working really well and I assume it’s gotten better.

“We’ll be working hard on breaking through that and hope we can close to them if we don’t win.”

The premiership captain praised new coach Tim Noakes, who has led the club’s revival.

“He’s very professional with the way he goes about it,” Cassidy said.

“The boys really look up to him, especially the younger guys.

“He’s brought things in he’s picked up in the WAFL.”