Match Report

Straight From The Sauce – Round 3 League & Reserves

3 weeks ago – April 20, 2026

Sam Jacobs reviews Round 3 League vs Sturt

What a great win for our players and the supporters!

Beating Sturt at Thomas Farms Oval by 2 points was a great result.

We knew that it was a big day for Sturt with it being their first home game, 2016 Premiership Reunion and the unveiling of the 2025 flag. We wanted to start well but unfortunately it was the opposite, we couldn’t get our hands on the ball, but parts of our game felt in good shape, so a bit of calmness at quarter time and I was confident we could bounce back.

The second quarter was some of the best footy we have played this year, we started to get our hands on it, and we put some scoreboard pressure on, heading into half time leading by 13 points. The third quarter was a tighter tussle but again we were able to maintain possession and with accurate kicking in front of goal we took a 20 point lead into the final change.

As good teams do, we knew they were going to come hard but didn’t expect them to score a goal inside the first 20 seconds which put us on the back foot. The players to their credit were able to score again at the other end with Sladojevic first and then Ballenden taking a strong mark and converting at the 21-minute mark.

Sturt came again and with it feeling like it was the longest quarter ever (34 mins in fact), we were able to hold on for a well-deserved 2-point win.

Best players on the day were Connor Ballenden (5 goals and 7 marks), Riley Knight (22 touches, 4 tackles and 7 score involvements), Kade Herbert (19 touches, 7 tackles and 1 goal) and Jack Hayes (16 touches, 6 marks, 6 tackles, 8 score involvements and 2 goals).

With a 5 day turnaround ahead of West Adelaide on Friday night at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, we look forward to being back home and putting in another strong performance.

See you there!

Sam Jacobs – Eagles Senior Coach

Kieran Sankey reviews Round 3 Reserves vs Sturt

A strong final quarter saw us run away for our first win of the season over Sturt, 13.8 (86) to 8.3 (51) at Unley Oval.

The game was a relatively even contest across the first three quarters, with both sides working hard to gain control. Pleasingly, we were able to consistently win our one-on-one contests across all areas of the ground, which laid the foundation for our success.

Our defensive actions were a highlight and allowed us to generate offence through our ball movement. We were rewarded for our diligence and were able to open things up in the final term, kicking six goals to two to put the result beyond doubt.

While the win was a strong step forward, there are still patches of our game that we are looking to tighten up. Our focus moving forward is building greater consistency so we can deliver a complete four-quarter performance. It was most pleasing to know that our application through pre-season and intent to play our game-style has been rewarded with a successful result.

Harry Dawkins was outstanding in defence, finishing with 25 disposals and 15 marks in a dominant display. Blake Hansen found plenty of the football through the midfield, while Jordan Tilbrook provided great drive from half-back. Tariek Newchurch played his best game of the season, with Patrick Weckert also contributing strongly up forward. It was also fantastic to see Zane Williams return from a long-term injury.

We now turn our attention to West Adelaide on Friday night, where we’ll be looking to continue building towards a consistent four-quarter performance.

Go Eagles!!!

Kieran Sankey – Eagles Development Coach