Eagles flying high ahead of Roos clash

EAST Geelong Football Club senior coach Ned Aulsebrook says he did not expect his side to be sitting in second position on the Geelong & District Football League ladder at this point of the season.

The Eagles, who boast a 5-1 start to the 2024 season, are thriving under their new coach, exceeding expectations through their first five games.

“If you had told me we’d be sitting 5-1 at this point in the season with the draw we’ve had, I would have taken it with both hands,” Aulsebrook said.

“I’m pretty content with how the boys are travelling, I still think there’s a lot of improvement to happen with blokes coming in and out of the side, and there’s a few tweaks we can make moving the footy around.

“The next five weeks or so are looking to be some tough competition.”

A notable standout for the Eagles has been Austin Mulvahill, leading the league in goals with 22 major, two ahead of Inverleigh champion Adam Donohue.

However, the success for East Geelong has started with the group’s backline, conceding the fewest points against so far in the campaign by more than 100 points, conceding 331 points in six games (55 points average).

“You can’t really afford to lapse for 10 or 15 minutes at that end of the ground in this league,”

Aulsebrook said.

“Our back six has taken real pride in being the lowest scored against team out of the 12, I was talking to Jack Beardsell about it at recovery after the Geelong West game and he looks straight at the points against category on the ladder.

“The last two week though, the backs have done a great job, and that comes with the midfielders getting back to help out.”

The Eagles head to Anakie Reserve to take on the Roos in Round 7 where East Geelong defeated Anakie by 165 points in 2023.

“I’ve not been out at Anakie yet, but I hear it’s a really big ground with a lot of space, which makes defending our half of the ground a little bit trickier.

“But it will be a bit of a look ahead to St Albans Reserve later in the year, which is also a bigger sort of deck and you need to know how to play there if you’re going to make a run at the end of the year.”

East Geelong and Anakie begin play at Anakie from 2pm.