Bloods, Hawks set for stirring standalone showdown

SOUTH Bendigo co-coach Troy Coates says he is happy with the Bloods 3-1 start to the season, but concedes a clearer picture of their standing within the competition will emerge over the next few weeks.

The Bloods will face reigning premier Eaglehawk in a blockbuster Anzac Day standalone encounter under lights at the QEO on Saturday.

Their next game will be against 2025 grand finalist Sandhurst on May 16, with a two-week gap in between.

Against the Hawks, the Bloods will be coming off a hard-fought but nevertheless impressive six-goal win over Castlemaine at Camp Reserve.

It was achieved under plenty of duress with the Bloods down to just one player on the bench from early in the second quarter.

Co-coach Jack Fallon lasted less than half a quarter before succumbing to a knee injury, while James Davies was sidelined for the last three quarters with concussion.

Complicating matters, Jasper Langley – making his first senior appearance this season – came off early in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.

Across town, Eaglehawk will head into Anzac Day at 2-1 following a tough 37-point win over Kangaroo Flat, in which the Roos hit the front in the third quarter, before the Hawks unleashed eight goals in 20 minutes, either side of the three-quarter time break.

While the Hawks also had the battles the week before in a 27-point victory against Golden Square, Coates is anticipating a return to their best on the big stage on Saturday night.

 

“We know every time we play them, they come out and are fired up,'” he said.

“It’s going to be a huge game; we can’t wait until Saturday night and being back on the QEO.

“The crowd was massive last year with 20ml of rain, but it’s supposed to be okay this time.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge against last year’s premiers.

“We’ll go in and give it our best. We like competing with the best sides in the comp, so we are really looking forward to the next few games – Eaglehawk and Sandhurst.

“We know their team (Eaglehawk) well and they have had some great recruits come in.

“We know they had a few out last week, but we’d expect a few to come back in.”

On the win over the Magpies, Coates said the Bloods had learned their lessons from slow starts in their previous two games – a narrow loss to the Storm and an even tighter win over Gisborne.

The foundations were laid with a 6.7 to 1.2 opening term.

“It was a pretty huge start. Our start the previous two games was pretty ordinary, so it was a huge focus,” Coates said.

The second-year Bloods co-coach could pinpoint only one area of concern.

“Inaccurate goal kicking again … which has been a bit of a theme for us in the last few weeks,” he said.

“21 points is a worry. We had 72 to 42 inside 50 entries, so we controlled a lot of the game, but which just didn’t make the most of it on the scoreboard.”

Queensland recruits Coen Harker and Tom Templeton again shone for the Bloods, with Coates singing both player’s praises.

“They have just been sensational for us; they’ve come in and lifted the standards on game-day,” he said.

“You just can’t fault their effort.

 

“Not only are they gathering a lot of possessions, but the defensive side of their games are also huge.

“Coen Harker had 11 tackles along with his 35 touches – he’s just an absolute beast in there for us.

“And Tom Templeton had about 11 clearances.

“They are just great in the contest and that’s something we’ve lacked a bit.”

Josh Nitschke and Brody Haddow continued their blistering early season form in the midfield, while Brock Harvey (four goals) and Hayden Geddes across half back were other standouts for the Bloods.

Not to be outdone, the Hawks’ quality midfield trio of Noah Wheeler, Joel Mullen and Billy Evans were all pivotal in their win over the Roos in an excellent warm-up for the showdown with the Bloods.

Hampered early in the season by an extensive injury list, Hawks co-coach Travis Matheson says he is happy with his side’s progress and is backing his players to rise to the big occasion.

“We do love playing in these big games,” he said.

“I reckon we are travelling pretty well. We have got a fairly extensive list of guys unavailable through injury, which is making it a bit of a challenge.

“But given what we have got out and the inexperience we have in our team, the boys are doing a fantastic job.

“Our midfield has been really good. We’ve obviously brought in some talent through that part of the ground.

“We’ve also had some young kids who have come in and had a go at senior footy, so that’s been two of the highlights of the year so far.”

Matheson believed the Bloods’ 3-1 record leading into Anzac Day spoke for itself.

“They’ve done well recruiting-wise; the boys from Queensland look like really great players,” he said.

“We’re probably expecting (James) Frawley will play as well.

“old Coast Suns are in Melbourne on Sunday, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see him too.”

A star inclusion for the Bloods against the Storm in round one, Frawley, who played 241 senior AFL games, kicked five go

The Hawks are unlikely to regain many, if any, injured players this weekend, but with their following game not until 9 May, expect plenty to be back on deck in time for the clash against the Storm