Thanks to the Chiefs three point victory the evening before this match ( March 19th ) , The Eagles were already champions before a point was played , however , the table topping triumvirate of Oliver , Hicks and Evetts were keen to keep their remarkable 14 match unbeaten streak intact.
First at the table was Bernard Oliver against Paul Ducros , The Rottweiler had a touch of distemper in his first outing , as he appeared nonplussed by the viciously spinning Ducros serve and his consistently excellent return of the Oliver service. 0-1 to the Boys in Blue.
Evetts then overcame doughty defender Dean Opbroek in five sets , which included a fifth set where Evetts fell to a 7-1 disadvantage only to recover and take the match 12-10.
The tardy arrival of Dave Ameghino , who was involved in a charity football match elsewhere , meant that the cards natural order was disrupted for the Hicks/Ducros match. Hicks clever deployment of pips ensured that there were few openings for the Ducros forehand , and this , together with a Hicks forehand attack which was in fully working order saw Eagles 2-1 ahead.
Oliver against the recently arrived Ameghino, saw a rejuvenated and polymesmeric display from the uncompromising Rotty who despatched the hastily prepared Rozzer with the minimum of drama.
The Eagles doubles partnership of Hicks and Oliver came unstuck in spectacular fashion against Ducros and Ameghino ,as for the first time this season, they lost by some margin, however man of the match Dean Hicks ensured the Eagles ship refloated with a powerful display against Opbroek , who had exacerbated an elbow injury in his marathon match with Evetts.
Oliver put the Eagles in a winning position , beating Opbroek , who was playing bravely through his pain barrier , which allowed Hicks to step up to the plate and defeat Dave Ameghino , a player he had never previously beaten, to take the point plurality.
A remarkable season for the Eagles , who started indifferently with two points from their first two matches , and recovered from this to drop only four points in the second half of the season.
Bernard Olivers performances have been the bed rock of their success , in any other season 39 wins from 48 matches would have been sufficient to secure an individual title. Dean Hicks has resolved his material and injury issues to improve as the season progressed and John Swinburne has never let his team down.
Finally , no review of The Eagles season would be complete without mention of Pat Oliver , who is a constant provider of support and encouragement , and an absolute trooper in the kitchen – many thanks.