Leongatha sees off fierce Maffra challenge

THE EAGLES flew into the Parrots’ nest full of confidence after a stunning win over previously undefeated Moe, Maffra pushing Leongatha all the way but going down by five points as the Parrots’ defence stood tall.

Leongatha coach Trent McMicking praised his backmen after the game, Cade Maskell announced by former club president Don Allen as the past players’ pick of the day.

Maskell’s reassuring presence, marking and ability to turn defence into attack were crucial factors in the win, along with the efforts of skilled and tenacious onballer Kim Drew.

The Parrots knew they had a game on their hands from early on, Maffra bursting out of the blocks with the first four goals, three of them to Judd Burgiel.

With the home side going against the wind and a fired-up opposition, Leongatha did well to arrest Maffra’s momentum and go to the first break just four points down.

While the Parrots began to find more marking targets as the first term progressed, something coach McMicking commented on from the sidelines, he didn’t hold back at the first break on the further improvement required.

Conceding, “They did something totally different to what we expected,” he clearly wasn’t happy with his side’s response, singling out the Parrots’ sloppy handball turnovers and insistence on passing to teammates under pressure.

He urged his players to start hitting the targets and to shelve the risky short kicks to a contest.

While Leongatha responded with the first four majors of the second term to take a 21-point lead, Maffra hit back to trail by just 14 points at the long break before delivering an excellent third term in which the Eagles took the lead.

Maffra booted 3.3-21 to a solitary behind, the Eagles a goal ahead with a term to play.

The visiting side’s defence matched the efforts of Leongatha’s, the likes of Macauley Pendergast, Archer Stobie and Henry Anderson among those taking crucial intercept marks to thwart Leongatha forward thrusts during the third stanza.

At the final change, McMicking advised his side to keep a close watch on dangerous Maffra ball winners Noah Christy and Max Stobie for the remainder of the game.

Both provided threatening moments, but Leongatha was able to find a couple of goals while restricting Maffra to just three behinds.

Paddy Ireland booted only one goal for the day but it proved critical, his long-range set shot cutting the margin to just three points before Ben Fort capitalised on a free kick near goal to put the Parrots ahead.

There was still plenty of time on the clock but Leongatha’s defence held tight.

Jenson Garnham and Fort were the multiple goal kickers for the winning side with three and two majors respectively.

While Fort wasn’t listed in Leongatha’s best, his ball-winning efforts and composure were important.

For the beaten but impressive Eagles, Henry Anderson was named best while Burgiel finished with half the side’s eight goals.

McMicking gave Maffra credit after the match, acknowledging the Eagles are a good and rapidly improving side.

The Parrots face another stern challenge in a visit to the Traralgon Showgrounds, the Maroons having been highly competitive against top-of-the-ladder Moe, while Maffra takes on Morwell.