Boomers bounce Hawks

The Eaton Boomers salvaged a gutsy win at Gloucester Park in Margaret River on Sunday kicking the last five goals of the game to run out 23 point winners.

Travelling down to Margaret River to play the Hawks in wet and woolly conditions is a tough assignment for any team, but Eaton didn’t show it kicking the first two goals of the match.

Eaton left their forward line open and good short kicking into their attacking 50 allowed South West Football League leading goal kicker Jarrod Humphries to get on the end of two quick passages of play with great forward leading.

But majors to Augusta Margaret River forwards Harry Taylor and dashing half back Beau Morgan gave the Hawks some momentum going into quarter time only one point down.

The second quarter was an arm wrestle with both teams’ defences relishing the conditions as Augusta Margaret River’s back six cut off Humphries leading lanes.

Hawks captain Mitch Lynn was his barnstorming best in the second kicking a goal and setting up another for fellow midfielder Jon Coghlan to give Augusta Margaret River the lead.

The Boomers were one goal down half way through the third quarter when Brendan Page, Jarrad Fazioli and Graham Jetta kicked into gear trapping the ball in their forward half.

Jetta kicked a brilliant banana goal from the pocket to give his side the momentum five minutes before half time and some sloppy checking from the Augusta Margaret River defence gave Karl Collard a set shot on the three quarter time siren.

Collard calmly converted the goal to put the Boomers two goals up at the final change.

The Heavens then opened with a torrential downpour and the home team regained ascendancy with the sideways rain.

However, it was the same old story for the Hawks, who, having dominated play and launching several attacking thrusts from defence, couldn’t finish off their good work with four behinds for the last quarter.

Eaton capitalised on these mistakes going coast to coast from a kick in to get the ball to Humphries in space who sealed the game with his fourth goal on the run.

Augusta Margaret River Coach Matt Jamieson lamented his team’s lack of structure at kick ins after the game.

“It was probably one of my more frustrated addresses in my time here during the three quarter time break because our lack of structure and tight checking hurt us,” he said.

“We didn’t take advantage of keeping the ball in our forward half for long enough and they cleared it too easy at times.

“It’s very hard to defend when they’ve hit two quick targets out the back with good ball movement, so it’s something we have to address.”

Augusta Margaret River will take on Bunbury in another top four clash on Saturday at Gloucester Park.

Bounce down is at 2.20pm.

Augusta Margaret River Football Club

Goal Kickers: H. Taylor 2, M. Gerrans, M. Lynn, B. Morgan, J. Coghlan, M. Payne

Best Players: M. Lynn, H. Taylor, J. Lavell-Lee, M. Jukes, B. Morgan, Z. Dronow

Eaton Boomers

Goal Kickers: J. Humphries 4, J. Fazioli 2, K. Collard, B. Craig, G. Jetta, M. Kings, M. Thompson

Best Players: B. Page, J. Bowe, G. Jetta, J. Fazioli, J. Humphries, K. Collard