Eagles grounded as Swans dominate big day at Pyengana.
Former Fingal Football Club members were celebrated on Saturday at the annual heritage match.
By Nick Fysh
If the huge crowd of punters at the Pyengana Oval on Saturday were hoping for a close encounter (of the football kind), they were to be sorely disappointed as they witnessed the East Coast Swans systematically destroy Evandale to the tune of 123 points.
Prior to the game, the inaugural Gary LeFevre medal for best afield in the reserves was presented to Liam “the Whiz” Davern to recognise the work tireless work of Gary, who sadly passed away recently.
Once again, Pyengana turned on magnificent weather, with Evandale kicking with a slight breeze to the coast end.
While the centre ruck duals were relatively even, it was the Swans midfielders who gained early ascendency, giving their forwards plenty of opportunities.
Murfet and McCarroll benefited from this service and ran riot in the early stages, kicking multiple goals as Talbot, Haley, Bannister and Cousens dominated through the middle. Jordan Tepper was a solid contributor around the ground for the Eagles, while Jordan Talbot tried hard to lift his team in the front half.
A shell-shocked Eagles outfit trudged to the first break facing a 48-point deficit, having managed only two behinds for the quarter.
The second quarter followed the same script, as the ball spent most of the time forward of the centre for the Swans. Evandale’s rare entries into the attacking zone were efficiently dealt with by players such as Aaron Mason, along with his left-footed henchman, Ethan Goldfinch. Michael Murfet continued to be the most dangerous forward on the ground, finally booting his fourth major after a flurry of points.
Goals were coming from unusual sources for the Swans, as firstly, regular defender, Angus Tate snapped a goal, followed by a long running major from Stoltenberg, who was amongst the best on the ground. “Razor” Ray gifted Sam Talbot a goal courtesy of an undisciplined 50 metre penalty, to further extend the enormous lead, as Evandale struggled to contain the multi-pronged Swans forward line, with players such as Musicka and Jarrod Mason continuing to find space.
By the half-time siren, the game was effectively over, as the Coast boys marched towards an inevitable victory, leading by a massive 81 points, having kept the Eagles to a miserly 3 behinds to that point.
There were a few ironic cheers as Evandale managed their first (and only) goal in the initial minutes of the third term, however the joy was to be short-lived as normal transmission was resumed with the Swans midfield cutting swathes through the centre square.
Calow and Burt in defence held up well for the Eagles, trying valiantly to limit
the damage, but Talbot goaled from outside 50, followed soon after by Jarrod Mason’s first.
One of the best passages of the day began with a Damon Howe kick out from full back to an unmarked Swans midfielder in the middle, quickly directing the ball to Musicka at centre half forward, who calmly slotted a great running goal, finally bringing some animation to a somewhat subdued crowd.
The last stanza resembled a dead rubber in tennis as the result was probably known by half time, the sting long gone from the game. The ball ping-ponged for a long period between the half back lines before “Murf” broke the deadlock with his fifth and soon after his sixth.
Some of the Swans younger brigade, such as Xavier Murfet (“Murf’s” son), Jackson Harrison and Tully Watts had excellent moments during the match, showing plenty of promise for the future. The final dagger into the heart of Evandale came in the last seconds of the match, as the dominant player on the field, Dakota Bannister, grabbed the Sherrin after the centre ball up, powered his way to centre half forward and slotted his third major from outside the 50 – a fitting end to an ominous game.
Once again, it was a wonderful day at Pyengana, supported in great fashion by the local community.
Former AFL umpire “Razor” Ray spoke eloquently after the match and the signed match ball was presented to Mike
Semmens who goal umpired his 700th (and possibly last) match. Dakota Bannister was the unanimous choice for the Sam LeFevre medal, awarded each year to the best player on the field.
RESULTS
Seniors
Swans 20.14(134) d Eagles 1.5 (11)
Goals, Swans: M.Murfet 6, D.Bannister, M.Musicka 3, L.McCarroll, S.Talbot 2, J.Cousens, A.Tate, W.Stoltenberg, J.Mason.
Best, Swans: D.Bannister, A.Mason, D.Howe, M.Murfet, J.Cousens, M.Musicka, S.Talbot, W.Stoltenberg, M.Haley.
Reserves
Swans 12.7 (79) d Eagles 6.3 (39)
