Gippsland Times | IN a highly entertaining match, Maffra regained the Battle of The Birds trophy from Sale, overcoming a determined Magpie side by 24 points.
Sale had held the trophy since the first round of 2013, but this time it was Maffra's turn, winning 17.8 (110) to 13.8 (86) at home on Sunday to begin the Gippsland League football season.
Only a few points separated the teams for most of the game as play continued to seesaw from one end of the ground to the other. Two late final quarter goals gave the Eagles some breathing space to have the game in their safe keeping.
The main difference between the two sides was the brilliant performance of Eagles forward Daniel Bedggood, who booted eight goals.
The unstoppable Bedggood created havoc in the Magpies defensive zone when he booted five of his goals in the second quarter, giving the Eagles a handy 30-point lead close to half-time. From then on Sale was playing catch-up football, but to its credit, got within seven points of the Eagles twice in the second half.
The Maffra win was set-up by a dominant midfield with Kelvin Porter, James Hammill and Danny Butcher creating many scoring opportunities as the Magpie defenders worked overtime. Good contributions also came from Joel Lambourne and Daniel O'Brien.
Sale's Justin Dessent was the sole shining light in defence, blanketing Maffra's Darren Sheen and holding him to a single goal.
At centre bounces, the Eagles' Brent Connelly and Magpie Jack Lipman produced an interesting contest by sharing the rucking duels.
Sale's high marking Rhys Carter and John Gooch, with five goals between them, were effective targets up forward, as was the elusive Josh Woods with three goals.
The new look Magpies never gave up trying with Justin McLay, Jayden Allison, and recruit Adam Helmke prominent around the ground.
After the match Sale coach Travis Ronaldson said there was plenty of upside in the young Magpies and Sale supporters could be assured of gradual improvement from the new group. Sale, however, will lose the experience of Kane Martin with a persistent hamstring injury.
There is also plenty of upside for the Eagles, with injured recruits Sam Pleming, who will captain the side this season, Gary Jones and Jake Roe-Duggan to come into the side in the coming weeks.
