Boomers hold off champs to stay on top

The Eaton Boomers survived a late scare from a spirited Augusta-Margaret River to win by 21 points at Glen Huon Reserve on Sunday.

The reigning premiers got within nine points midway through the final term, but the Boomers showed their class to record a 16.9 (105) to 12.12 (84) win.

The pace and disposal of Jace Cormack, Gino Catalano and Jay Davis was a major factor in the Boomers’ eighth win of the season, as was the presence of big man Rohan Lilly.

Daniel Davis and Matt Buchanan were also instrumental for the Boomers until their afternoons were ended early by a hamstring and shoulder injuries respectively.

Full-forward Harry Morgan was sensational for the visitors and kept his side in the game with an unblemished seven-goal haul.

Skipper Jake Cassidy worked hard all afternoon and Ben and Mitch Gerrans were impressive.

Despite only leading for the opening 10 minutes of the match, the Hawks were far from embarrassed without key players Jeremy Humm, Cody Miller and Justin Simmonds.

Eaton were also missing a number of regulars, no bigger than vicecaptain and running defender Chris Atthowewho served the final game of his two-week suspension and will return against the Harvey Bulls.

The two sides went tit-for-tat early in the match until a five-goal burst from the Boomers had them leading by 24 points midway through the opening term.

The Hawks hit back with three majors of their own before Buchanan’s goal on the quarter-time siren gave the home side a 15-point buffer.

Eaton was the more impressive side for the majority of the second quarter as they began to take control of the match.

But a yellow card to Michael Battaglia, which resulted in a much needed goal for theHawks, gave the visitors some momentum as they made slight inroads by half-time to get within 14 points.

The third term was a low-scoring affair with just five majors scored, but the match really came to life in a thrilling final stanza.

Youngster Rhys Owen got the Hawks within single digits after a controversial free-kick halfway through the last quarter, but two goals in five minutes sealed the visitors’ fate during time-on.