GLENORDEN will have to throw all its eggs into the last-round basket if it’s to reach the Western Region Football League division 2 finals.
The Hawks gave hot premiership favourites Yarraville-Seddon Eagles a run for their money at Heathdale Oval on Saturday before losing their grip on the contest in the last 20 minutes and go down by 48 points.
With his team undermanned because of injuries and simply outclassed by the runaway ladder leader, Hawks coach Nick Diker was proud of the way his side stayed within striking distance until early in the last quarter.
“It was one of our better games of the year. Their class just shone through in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the game.” The Hawks’ endeavour and the weather conditions made for a scrappy game. The home side struggled to put on scoreboard pressure, but when it pulled the deficit back to a touch over four goals with the first goal of the last quarter, suddenly it was game on.
In the proceeding 10 minutes, the Hawks pressed forward only to come up empty, before the Eagles decided enough was enough and blew the game apart late.
Diker lauded the efforts of his leaders Chris Scudamore and Matthew Antonello for fighting through injuries in recent weeks.
He also praised the impact of youngsters Jesse Fortune and Dashmir Barolli for their work in the midfield.
The Hawks will count this weekend’s bye as a blessing in disguise.
They get a chance to hit the reboot button and set their sights on Parkside in the last round.
“It all comes down to the last game for us now,” Diker said. “We’ll get about six or seven back for that game.”
