Round 18 Recap: Eagles Stay in Top 4 Contention, but Star Trio in Doubt for Derby

Well, it seems one of that trio will be missing to face the Dockers as Glass has been offered a 1 match suspension from the M.R.P. It seems like a decent deal to me with Glass getting a reduction in points due to good behaviour. Still, he will miss a huge game and it's disappointing given how late in the game his bump came.
In other bad news, Cox and Kerr are in doubt after both sustaining injuries during the demolition.

But enough of the bad news. The Eagles bounced back in a big way, with a terrific effort against, an admittedly average, Lions side. We dominated from the start, lost a bit of momentum in the second but really turned it on in the second half. The last quarter (outside of the Glass hit) was great viewing; 11 goals stretching the margin to near 100 points. Nothing less would have been acceptable either. We now have the third best percentage. Top 2 still looks gone but if we win out we should make top 4. However, with games against the Cats, Pies and Hawks remaining that still appears like an extremely difficult task.

But let's not lose sight of what was a great victory. We had stars all over the ground. Hurn and Waters, perhaps the best half-back tandem in the league, were at their rebounding best. Who needs clearances when you have these two? NicNat and Shuey were inspired from the opening siren. Shuey played like a guy who cost us the two previous games or something...which would be unfair to suggest. But his ability to break through packs, deliver the ball and kick goals is a huge asset to us. NicNat was also dominant with 36 hitouts, 15 disposals, 15 tackles and 3 goals. Darling was a beacon of strength with 5 goals whilst Hill showed his value with 4 goals on return. I couldn't believe the commentators were actually discussing whether Hill would lose his place when Embley comes back. He might not get too many possessions, but he's a bona fide goalkicker.

So a huge win and a great confidence booster ahead of the game against the Cockburn Dockers. Now we just nervously wait the health of Cox and Kerr.