Eagles reign supreme

By Mark Gullick
BEACONSFIELD’S under-18s held off a fast-finishing Narre Warren by four points to claim the RACV free2go premiership trophy on Saturday.
The contest mirrored the second semi-final clash between these two teams two weeks earlier.
The win placed the Eagles in the exclusive company of premiers and champions, as they went through the season without recording a loss.
The match began with a downpour, but Beaconsfield took little time to adapt with a goal in the first minute.
They didn’t surrender the lead from that point.
Jason Salopek replied quickly for the Magpies, when he ran into an open goal.
Beaconsfield then piled on the next four goals to establish a 29-point lead at the first change.
Narre Warren came back into the game in the second term with three goals to one.
Beaconsfield kicked the only two goals of the third quarter to maintain its imposing 29-point lead with a quarter to play.
The opening five minutes were tight, until a Narre Warren goal opened the floodgates.
They produced four goals within 10 minutes to storm back into the match.
Narre Warren kept attacking and every player was in their half, demonstrating its dominance of the ball.
The Magpies constructed several scoring attacks, but they couldn’t get the goal to claim the lead.
The siren sounded as Narre Warren attacked, cutting short their spirited comeback, but the Eagles were worthy winners after controlling the majority of the match.
Beaconsfield’s Daniel Johnston was awarded the VCFL medal for best on ground.
His brother Damien played well, as did ruckman Alex Beech and defenders Mark McManus and Brent Colling.
Jacob Matwijkiw was Narre Warren’s best player.
Other Magpies who tried hard were Ben King in defence, Bobby Harvey in the midfield and forward line, Salopek (three goals), defender Andrew Ray and utility Jake Calvert.