The East Coast Eagles have risen to third on the Sydney AFL ladder after beating Sydney Uni by 45 points on Saturday at Henson Park.

 

The Eagles were looking to reverse the result of the round three clash between the two clubs when the Eagles let a seven-goal lead slip to lose by six points.

 

This time however the result was never in doubt and had it not been for a seven goal last quarter by the Students the 45-point victory would have been much bigger. The Eagles took advantage of the breeze in the first quarter and set up a 30-point lead. This was increased to 36 points at the main brake and the Eagles dominated the third term to blow the lead out to 70 points.

 

Even though the Eagles clocked off in the last quarter it was a pleasing result which again shows the improvement in the team that has occurred throughout the season. It know means the Eagles have won four in a row and look forward to the clash against league leaders UNSW/ES this Saturday.

 

Luke Stanford was in great form and his drive and run set up many scoring opportunities for the Eagles. Michael Sankey and Jon Vlatco controlled the game across half-back and Lawrence Furlan again showed he is not far off his best with another four goals. Damien Bowles, Mark Maher and Blake Ure all continued on their consistent form that they have shown over the last few weeks. The final score was 21.12 (138) to 14.9 (93).

 

The Eagles will need to be at their best to have any chance of beating the Bulldogs but if they continue to improve as they have each week then they certainly will not be over awed by the strong Bulldogs side.

 

The reserve grade side after falling behind by three goals to none early then took over control of the game from that point on. They dominated play and if not for some inaccurate kicking the final margin of 32 points could have been bigger. The final scoreboard read 13.13 (91) to 9.5 (59).

 

The game marked the return of Kristian Pearson from a knee reconstruction and it was great to see Pearso back on the field. He did manage two goals in his first game of the year.

 

Michael Johnston and Ryan Fitton once again lead from the front. Rod Frost chipped in with five goals and Matt Arbon was prominent throughout.

 

The reserve grade team take on the undefeated UNSW/ES reserve grade side and will need to be at their best to challenge the Bulldogs.

 

The Premier Cup team took on fifth placed North Shore Bears and they looked in total control most of the day until the middle of the third quarter the Bears managed to get within a goal. They gained control again in the last quarter and ran out winners 11.11 (77) to 8.10 (58).

 

Trent Stubbs was again outstanding and he was ably supported by Alex Groome and Josh Patira chimed in with three valuable goals.

 

The Challenge Cup team took on the strong Manly side and could not match it with them in the second half after a fairly even fist half. The Wolves ran out winners by 14.10 (94) to 6.6 (42).

 

Murray Bamforth, James Tarrant and David Elliott all put in solid performances.