MFL | Eagles outmuscled by Nathalia

United’s lack of size in the back half produced a raft of mismatches, with Glenn Boyd (nine goals) and Alex Hicks (six goals) doing the damage for Nathalia.

It’s the Eagles’ eighth straight loss of the season, but coach Farran Priest admitted it was a particularly stinging loss following a competitive run that saw them push Barooga and Congupna in recent games.

“It was pretty disappointing after the last few weeks we had, after having the ball on our terms and finding that fluency,” Priest said.

“They had four massive talls in their forward line and it’s pretty evident that we’re not too tall ourselves.

“We had a bit of momentum in the first five minutes but got nothing for it.

“We’re hoping this will take us forward and we’ll look to fine-tune around the contest.”

James Harney continued to battle for the Eagles, booting two of their three goals before making the move into the midfield.

“James battled all day,” Priest said.

“He ended up playing on the ball and you could see it really meant a lot to him.”

Priest said Eagles ruck Darcy Ramage played his best game of the season after moving into the backline, while Jason Garner assumed ruck duties.

“Jason Garner took most of the contests around the ground and that was his best game of the year as well,” Priest said.

Tom Nihill, Ben Armstrong, and Bailey Bell flew the flag for the Purples in the big win, Nathalia’s second of the season.

Echuca United’s attention will now turn to round nine and a match-up against Finley at home.

The Cats are coming off their first win of the season, but Priest said his side would be raring to go on its home deck come Saturday.

“We’re looking forward to that now,” Priest said.

“We’re playing some teams around us now and we’ll look to hit the ground running during the week and have our mind set on beating Finley.”