Eagles Win OAFL Grand Final

October 9, 2006 by Bill Frampton | View Comments (0)

The Toronto Eagles claimed their 10th Ontario Australian Football League Premiership Saturday, defeating the Broadview Hawks in the 2006 Grand Final at Humber North Oval in Toronto.

A beautiful fall afternoon with perfect football conditions greeted the teams as they lined up for the singing of the national anthem. Broadview won the toss and elected to kick to the north end of the ground.

The Eagles had the better of the early play and kicked the first goal 4:50 into the opening quarter. The Hawks steadied with one of there own less than five minutes later, but another Eagle goal at the 16 minute mark had the favourites in front by seven points at quarter-time, 2.2 14 to 1.1 7.

With nine Premierships to their name, the Eagles really wanted this one and came out for the second quarter very determined. They dominated all over the ground and prevented the Hawks from getting more than a couple of attacks while kicking three goals, one at 7:20, another at 12:30 and the third at 15:45. At half-time the Eagles led by 30 points, 5.7 37 to 1.1 7.

Playing catchup is never easy, least of all in a Grand Final. However the Hawks had the vocal support of many in the crowd who kept up chants of "Go Hawks go" and "Let's go Hawks" and their performance lifted in the third quarter. A goal at 2:30 followed by one at 5:45 closed the gap, but one from the Eagles at 15:45 stretched it again. The Hawks had a shot at goal right on the siren after a 50-metre penalty put them within range but the kick was offline for a behind. At three-quarter time the Eagles' lead had been reduced slightly to 23 points, 6.8 44 to 3.3 21.

With 20 minutes left in the game Broadview still had a slim chance but needed a big fourth quarter. With their fans chanting in support the Hawks came out with determination and dominated early with goals at 2:15 and 8:10. However the Eagles weathered the storm and came back with two of their own two minutes apart at 11:45 and 13:40 that quieted the Broadview fans. With the clock ticking down the Eagles kept the play between their centre and forward lines, and when the siren went they had won a memorable Grand Final by 24 points, 8.10 58 to 5.4 34.

There being no Canadian Nationals as yet, the Eagles are also winners of the Conacher Cup, fittingly named in honour of Lionel Conacher, the greatest all-round athlete in Canadian sports history. The Eagles' Troy Marsh was named the game's Most Valuable Player by the umpires.