1. Pinch-hitting ruckmen Oscar Allen and Jack Darling are playing their role as the side-kicks for No.1 ruckman Tom Hickey. Second-year utility player Allen went into the centre bounces as well as doing some of the work around the ground, while Darling operated inside the forward 50. Darling created a clutch goal in the second quarter, out-pointing Carlton’s Andrew Phillips by edging him under the ball at a boundary throw-in before taking clean possession and snapping truly.
2. Continuing the theme of the battle of the big men, Hickey has been rock solid in the absence of Nic Naitanui and had the better of his battle with Phillips. He gave the midfield first use of the ball, winning 23 hit outs, but was also influential around the ground. The hard-running St Kilda recruit also had 19 possessions and took four marks in a strong performance.
3. Carlton looked threatening 10 minutes into the second term when they led by nine points and that was the signal for Eagles stars Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Elliot Yeo and Jack Darling to step up. Yeo, Shuey and Gaff imposed themselves around the contest, Shuey finishing off his work with a couple of goals, while Darling also kicked two goals in that period of the game as the Eagles snatched the lead and never again surrendered the advantage.
4. The Eagles' small forwards have one clear measure of their impact and that is the scoreboard. They generally do it well and kicked seven goals between them – Liam Ryan a standout with four goals – while Willie Rioli, Jack Petruccelle and Jarrod Cameron kicked one each. But more than the obvious barometer of their influence, they also had 51 pressure acts between them – Cameron leading the way with 16 and Rioli racking up 14.
5. The defensive efforts of the Eagles were exceptional, with Jeremy McGovern leading the way. He had 18 possessions and 13 marks, taking five intercept grabs in the first half (11 in total) when the game was most at threat. In conjunction with Brad Sheppard (22 possessions and eight marks) and Shannon Hurn (21 possessions and seven marks) they controlled the back half and that pair was also important when the heat was at its most intense.
