Sport
28 April, 2026
Eagles swoop the Magpies by 66 points
Dunolly has starved off a fast-starting Campbells Creek and got their name in the winners’ column with a 66-point victory.
The Eagles dominated the contest following a frantic opening term, kick-started by five unanswered goals in the second quarter.
Joel Fisher, Darcy Conder, Jay McDonald and player-coach Lloyd Needs gave the hosts an offensive boost they desperately needed after back-to-back defeats to open their 2026 campaign.
The Magpies had a plethora of fantastic individual performances led by midfield maestro Jack Larkin and full-back Michael White, but inaccurate goalkicking plagued their efforts at an elusive victory, with 14 of their 18 scoring shots registering as behinds.
Fisher got the Deledio Reserve crowd up and about following a frenzied start, pouncing onto a bouncing ball at the top of the goalsquare and running towards goal for an easy finish.
Despite conceding the opening major, the Magpies dominated the next five minutes, with Daniel Watson rectifying some missed chances by latching onto a Bailey Morton kick in and converting the set shot to give the visitors a lead.
The two teams proceeded to trade goals for the remainder of the term before a well-taken Cody Schepers shot on goal in the pocket built an eight-point quarter time buffer for the Eagles.
The start of the second quarter remained fiercely competitive, with Ryan Burt and James Martinovic producing a great battle in the ruck while Larkin and James Haber built upon their first-quarter performance and kept pace with Dunolly’s ball winners, led by Dylan Burt and Fisher.
With the Magpies failing to convert on their limited opportunities, the Eagles swooped in with a barrage of second-quarter goals to expand their margin to a healthy 39 points at half time.
Credit to Campbells Creek, they managed to stem the bleeding to begin the second half, as the White led back six, allowing one Dunolly goal in the third quarter.
However, the Eagles were equally stout in their defensive 50, forcing the teams to share a goal each as the margin remained at 39 points at the final change.
That allowed Dunolly to provide the exclamation point with a five-goal to one final quarter, surpassing the 100-point mark for the first time since round 11 last season at home to Maldon.
Ryan Burt continued his sensational form in the ruck for Dunolly, named among the best players for the third week running alongside McDonald, Dylan Burt, Fisher, Mathew Bradley and Conder.
Conder and Needs finished with three goals each while Fisher, McDonald, Cody and Willem Schepers all kicked a pair of majors.
Campbells Creek named White, Larkin, Jesse Presser, Martinovic, Haber and Mitchell Stevens as their best players. Presser was also one of three goalkickers alongside Watson and Lachlan Hyland.