Border Districts started their premiership defence with a strong 34-point victory over Kingston at Frances on Saturday.
In a match-up of the 2023 grand finalists, the Eagles showed that they will again be the benchmark in the new season.
Coming into the game both teams had a few changes from the grand final sides. The Eagles had added Bart Nolen to the lineup as he was signed from Naracoorte. New Eagles coach Zac Richards's brother Joshua was also added to the team after he joined the club after spending 2023 with Norwood.
Kingston had a few changes also as they welcomed back Sam Robertson after he spent 2023 recovering from a knee injury. The Saints also added Mackenzie Slee to add depth to their backline. Mackenzie spent 2023 at Prince Alfred Old Collegians Football Club. Mackenzie also has spent time in the SANFL where he played with North Adelaide.
Both teams were hard at the man and the ball right from the start of the game. Kingston had done a lot of early attacking but couldn't find a way to score. The Eagles were the first team to score a major when they went the length of the field to score the game's first goal after Kingston had the ball deep in their forward line. Jameson Bower, Dylan Auciello, Isaac Hewson and Dylan Schoenmaker combined to work the ball down the field to Mark Quinn who won the ball in the forward 50 and quickly handballed it over to Harrison Pretlove who finished off the work with the contest's first goal. Josh Richards soon had the Eagles' second goal on the board after he received a free kick for too high. Border Districts kept pressing hard and a Kingston turnover deep in the defensive 50 saw Zac Richards make the Saints pay and the home side pushed ahead by 17 points. The Eagles had three goals on the board and looked threatening. The Eagles again scored a goal after Kingston turned it over and Mackenzie Bower made the Saints pay with a straight kick at goal from 45 metres out. Isaac Hewson, Josh Richards and Zach Richards were doing a lot of good work for the Eagles during the first quarter. Kingston finally got their first goal of the game after James Siviour won a ruck contest in the defensive 50 and booted the ball clear where Kingston teammates Chris Draper and Sam Robertson combined to send the ball down the field where Thomas Matsouliadis marked on the wing and handballed to Chad Wood who ran past and got the ball to Brandon Tapfield on the edge of the forward 50. Brandon found Jack Harding in front of the goal and Jack put through the kick as the Saints were finally on the board with a major. The Eagles' margin had been cut back to 17 points by quarter time. Campbell Watts, William Watts, James Siviour and Sam Robertson had started the season with good form in the first quarter for the Saints. Joshua Richards looked to have fitted in nicely for the Eagles as he started well for Border Districts. Mark Quinn, Dylan Auceillo and Makenzie Bower were also prominent for the Eagles.
Border Districts got a great start to the second quarter when they were attacking and Joshua Richards marked a kick in and sent the ball forward where Mark Quinn took a big pack in front of the goals. Quinn went back and kicked the goal to stretch the Eagles' lead out to a 4 goal lead. Both teams were hard at it and not giving much away. Jack Harding for Kingston won a free kick and kicked a perfect pass to Ethan Murdock who kicked the goal from 45 metres out. The Saints had the margin back to 18 points at the seven-minute mark. Border Districts hit back with goals from Dylan Schoenmaker and Brodie Adams to extend the Eagles' margin back out to 28 points at the 16-minute mark of the second quarter. Brodie's goal was an acrobatic grab and quick kick as he fell to the ground near the goal line. Grant Cother, Fraser Adams and Zac Richards were involved in helping the Eagles gain an edge on the scoreboard. Kingston was working overtime to try and avoid the pressure of the Eagles' defensive set-up. James Siviour was able to use his pinpoint kicking skills to hit Todd Lockwood on the chest inside 50 and Todd kicked a goal close to halftime. Border Districts went into the long break 22 points clear.
Kingston attacked hard to start the third quarter but the Borders defence led by Dylan Auciello was standing strong and not letting much through. The Eagles got the first goal of the second half after Isaac Hewson kicked a long ball deep inside 50 and Dylan Schoenmaker took a mark in the square and kicked the goal. Border Districts then added another goal when Kingston went forward and the Eagles were able to rebound the ball through Chase Bower who caught Todd Lockwood in a perfect tacker. Chase booted the ball long to the midfield where teammate Isaac Hewson won the contest and moved the ball on to Dylan Schoenmaker who was free inside forward 50 and was able to run the ball to the goal line and score the Eagles' ninth goal. The efficiency of the two sides when going was far different in the game. Kingston had as much of the ball inside their front half of the ground but could not put it on the scoreboard. The Eagles on the other hand were moving the ball great in space and hurting the Saints when they got free. Border Districts added two goals through Issac Hewson and Mackenzie Bower to stretch the margin out to a game-high 48 points. Kingston hit back with a goal through Ben Warner after he was given a free kick for too high inside the forward 50. Campbell Watts continued to rack the touches up for the Saints during the third quarter as he, Jack Tapfield, William Watts, Chris Draper and James Siviour continued to fight hard for the Saints. Borders added another two goals before the end of the quarter as Harrison Pretlove kicked his second and third goals of the game. The Eagles went into three-quarter time 55 points in front. The Eagles flexed their muscle in the third quarter as Joshua Richards, Grant Cother, Luke Nicholas and Fraser Adams continued to work hard for the Eagles. Harrison Pretlove and Dylan Schoenmaker looked dangerous when the ball went towards them during the quarter. Campbell Watts, Chris Draper, Jack Tapfield, Jack Armfield and William Watts were the Saints' better contributors during the third quarter.
Kingston struck first blood in the fourth quarter after Jack Armfield laid a great tackle on Border Districts Dylan Auciello and was awarded the free kick. Jack went back and kicked the goal as Kingston brought the margin back to 48 points. Kingston was controlling the play for most of the fourth quarter but couldn't get the score on the board. Kingston added another goal when William Watts was able to grab the ball off a Border Districts kick-in and find Ethan Murdock free for a shot on goal. Ethan kicked the goal as the Saints brought the margin back to 39 points. Kingston continued to play the game out as they got another goal through William Watts who roved the ball and swung a snap kick through the goals to bring the margin back to 32 points. Border Districts had done enough to get the first round points though and ran out winners by 34 points.
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