Talon telling win

Mansfield Eagles beat the Benalla 121-69 at the Benalla Showgrounds on Saturday to put not a full stop but an exclamation mark at the end of their home and away season. The win stretches their unbeaten streak to 11 games and they will now go into the finals as a form team and a force to be reckoned with. Just a few weeks ago the league looked like it may be a foregone conclusion with ladder leaders Kyabram unbeaten going into their round 16 game with the Eagles. Kyabram, having had their streak snapped when they lost that game, went down to the Shepparton Swans at the weekend, leaving no clear favourite to take the major prize. Mansfield meet the Shepparton Bears in the first round of the finals, having beaten them twice over the course of the regular season. The Eagles started the game against ninth-placed Benalla well, kicking 5.1 in the opening quarter to the All Blacks’ 1.0. With the Eagles sitting on a 31-6 lead early on, the task looked difficult for Benalla. Especially given Mansfield's tendency to put heavy pressure on their opponents’ forward line to force turnovers and control a game. Mansfield looked calm and composed throughout. Knowing the finals lay just around the corner, they took their foot off the gas just enough to allow Benalla to go goal for goal with them in a second term where both teams scored 3.4. The second half began with the Eagles leading 53-28 and the brief rest looked to be all the Eagles needed to go again, scoring seven in the third term and effectively killing off the game, ensuring the unbeaten streak that dates back to May continues into the finals. At the final siren the 18-goal Eagles led 121-69. Callum Brown, Matthew King, Jayden Howes, Nick Gray and Will Foster were amongst the best on ground while Al Bennett (3) and Benjamin Reardon (3) sat on top of the scoreboard with assistance from Ben Christopher (2), Sam Thomson (2), Foster (2) and Brown (2). Eagles Player/Coach Jack Hutchins, who helped himself to a third-quarter goal to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors, was pleased to see yet another strong performance from his team. "We had a great first quarter," he said. "To Benalla's credit they applied great pressure in the second quarter and used the ball well which got through our defence too easily. "Post half time we were able to get things back on track and controlled the game to win and solidify third spot on the ladder. "We've certainly given ourselves the best chance coming into this finals series. "We have all three grades playing finals which is amazing and I said to the group post game that we should be incredibly proud of what we've been able to accomplish so far. "But it all resets now and anything can happen with finals football. "This is the fun part. "We are confident and believe in our ability knowing our game style suits the pressure of finals football and we want to continue to ride the momentum we've generated over the last few months. "We'll have a strong week on the track and can't wait to show what we can do on Sunday against the Bears." The Mansfield Eagles Reserves warmed up for their own finals series with an 84-24 win over the Benalla Reserves at the Benalla Showgrounds. William Dunstan, Ben Les, Blake Leenen, William Brooks and Thomas Sheahan were the best on ground while Jack Christopher booted five in an attention-grabbing performance.