Geelong Advertiser |
GRAND finalist East Geelong will field its strongest side of the season tomorrow in a crucial clash with Geelong West.
Eagles coach Ricky O'Toole will welcome seven players into the side that beat Corio by 36 points in what he described as his "strongest squad" this season.
Andrew Hill (knee), Ben Williamson (cracked sternum), Luke Parker (birth of his child), Jake Mawson (knee), Julian Carr (cracked ribs) and Josh Molan (wedding) return to the side, while Tyson Blackney has crossed from Torquay.
"We're starting to get everyone back. It's our best side for the year, so we'll have no excuses," O'Toole said.
"It's a big game for both clubs. We can go two games clear if we win and we can put a real gap on those sides outside the five," he said.
"It's going to be a really important game."
The Eagles (fifth) can put a wedge between themselves and the Cheetahs (sixth) with victory in Round 11.
O'Toole's side has overcome turmoil stemming from his suspension and subsequent acquittal for kicking, and a host of injuries to make an assault on another grand final.
"We weren't playing well. We had a truckload of injuries and Tyson Blackney will be the 50th players who has played in the ones this year," he said.
"That's ridiculous how many we've played, but we just weren't playing good footy.
"Because we lost a lot of players last season, and we got a lot of new players in, it took a while to jell and we're just starting to come together now.
"I was really happy with the way we performed last week against Corio and the week before against Thomson."
But O'Toole said his side was not looking too far ahead.
"Hopefully we can continue to improve."
This season East Geelong has suffered several hidings, including a 127-point loss to Werribee Centrals.
"Those thrashings we copped, we were severely decimated," O'Toole said. "All our good players our and for a two or three week period we were getting hammered."
Despite a run of three wins, O'Toole said his side is not looking too far ahead.
"Our first aim is to make the finals and if we get there, hopefully we can have some continuity in the team and get a good run at it," he said.
"And once you're in the finals anything can happen."
