Eagles determined to defend fortress

EAST GEELONG took a valuable lesson from its seven-point loss to Belmont Lions earlier this season in the GDFL.

The Eagles realised the team needed to win more contested ball.

“That was probably the turning point for us where we go ‘Right, we’ve got to start putting our head over the footy a little bit more and beating the opposition to the ball’ because for the first half of that Belmont game, we weren’t anywhere near it,” playing coach Ned Aulsebrook said.

It was an area the coach said the team thrived in during its 11.19 (85) to 9.6 (60) away victory against Inverleigh at the weekend.

After trailing by three points at half-time, the Eagles got on top in the second half with Austin Mulvahil, Jack Dickson and Jake Mclean receiving praise for the team’s run and carry off half-back.

The next assignment is hosting Corio in round 8 at 2pm tomorrow (Saturday, May 31).

Aulsebrook said the Eagles hadn’t lost a home game since round 1 of 2024 and he wants to further solidify the fortress.

“We want teams to hate coming to Richmond Crescent because it’s going to be a tough day at the office.”

Young centre half-forward Caleb Ezard has missed about a month of footy with an ankle injury, and Aulsebrook said he wasn’t sure how far off he was from returning.

East Geelong is third on the ladder with five wins and two losses while Corio is 12th with one win.