Eagles fall to Purples but learn valuable lesson in defeat

The second half was much more competitive, with each side kicking three more goals after half-time to make the final margin 18 points.

The fact his side was so competitive for three quarter was frustrating for Priest, who addressed the lapse with his players, although there were still plenty of positives taken from the effort.

“We were competitive for three quarters, but we spoke about it after the game, that three quarters obviously isn't enough,” he said.

“We were obviously super competitive in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, I don't think we scored a goal, we sort of had our lapse in that second quarter.

“In the third and fourth quarter we came pretty hard, and if that second quarter was a bit different, the score would be different, and the game could have shaped a little bit differently for us. Last year we went there and got done by 150 points to this year going back with a very similar side and only getting done by 18 points, that's probably a positive.

“All in all, yesterday was a really good learning curve for us. It shows that one quarter or even a lapse of, say, 10 minutes is enough to get us out of the contest, and seems to be a little bit of a theme for us at the moment.

“But I'm confident those lapses are short and we are understanding a bit more about the game and parts of the game that we need to really work on.”

The pressure and intent that the Eagles had shown in the early part of the year had seemingly deserted them in the past few weeks, and after urging his players to rediscover that form, Priest said it was on show once again against the Purples.

“That was definitely present and we're just a different side when we do that,” he said of his side’s intent.

“We acknowledge that as a group, it's just tapping into how we consistently do that. That's something that we pride ourselves on. It's been a working progress for the last, I want to say 12 months, so if we don't have that pressure and effort, well, we lose everything.

“Yesterday I walked away still obviously upset that we lost, but I walked away thinking it was a really good curve for us, because that last quarter, I think in the first five minutes we had six entries and I think we only kicked two points out of it, and that's disappointing. If we kick two of those, that shapes the game differently for us.

“Take away nothing from Nathalia, they just had a couple of big boys, experienced boys that just knew what to do at the right time, but I thought we battled really well. I walked away happy considering the actual result.”

Harney brothers James and Joe were influential for the Eagles in the loss, with James kicking four majors up forward, while Joe played a shut-down role on Nathalia’s Glenn Boyd in the backline to earn the best-on-ground nod for United.

“To have two players like that at two different ends of the ground, it shapes us really well and that's the whole reason we were super keen to get them both to the club,” Priest said.

“Everyone knows James in terms of his goal-kicking ability, his marking ability and just the whole thing of not being beaten. If he jumps up against three blokes, it will be three on one, he will always halve it. The ball will come to ground, he will never be out-marked.

“Joe, on the other end, he is such an underrated player. He's had a slow start to the season, but his last two or three weeks for us he's really picked up.

“Joe is obviously highly rated in our group, and he's so important to our backline when he's up and going and marking. They've both got incredible marking ability, it's actually really good to watch. But yeah, they're so important to us.”

Nash Ramage also received high praise from Priest, after the young gun stole the starting ruckman role from older brother Darcy and finished among the best.

Echuca United will face Tocumwal next week at home in what shapes as its best chance yet to snap its run of losses.