Sport
16 June, 2026
Redbacks shutdown Eagles
Carisbrook produced a defensive masterclass on Saturday, limiting Dunolly to seven points all game on their way to an impressive 95-point victory.
The weekend’s downpour created perfect conditions for Carisbrook’s game plan, as their pristine structure held the Eagles scoreless in the second half.
While the visitors struggled to move the football on the muddy playing surface, the Redbacks looked as though they were playing on carpet, with superstar forward Tim Rinaldi leading Carisbrook’s eight goal-kickers with five majors.
Aided by Harcourt’s surprising defeat to Newstead, Carisbrook has moved itself to the top step of the MCDFNL ladder, an extra injection of confidence before their upcoming meeting with Lexton.
Similar to their encouraging yet disheartening defeat to Navarre a fortnight ago, the Eagles started on the front foot, rewarded with an early goal from Jay McDonald.
Dunolly struggled to gain any traction from that point forward, as Carisbrook began to cement itself in transition.
While a combination of the Eagles back six and treacherous conditions caused several scoring chances to go wayward, the Redbacks still found themselves 23 points up at quarter time.
Despite Dunolly’s Ryan Burt having an excellent battle with Carisbrook legend and reigning Berry Powell medalist Jackson Bowen in the ruck, it was Carisbrook who dominated around the contest.
The likes of Patrick Taranto, Michael Zelencich, Thomas Gardam and Angus McKinna were routinely launching the ball inside 50, resulting in five second-quarter goals for the Redbacks as they extended their lead to 57 points at half time.
Carisbrook continued their domination after the interval, registering 10 unanswered scoring shots in the third quarter.
While only three of those attempts went through the big sticks, the Redbacks had the result secured at three-quarter time before adding two goals in the final quarter to complete the victory.
Among a plethora of standout performers, Taranto, Bowen, Zelencich, Gardam, McKinna and Mitchell Treacy were listed as the best players for Carisbrook.
Ruckman Burt made a successful return from injury in Dunolly’s defeat, listed among the visitors’ best players alongside McDonald, Lachlan Watson, Joel Fisher, Ryan Spokes and Kallum Schepers.