THIS time last year Hawkesdale-Macarthur was soaring into the finals series.

It's a stark contrast to this season, which has seen the Eagles hover at the lower half of the ladder.

Coach Murray Habel did not expect another grand final berth in 2009.

"When you lose that amount of players, it's always going to be hard," he said.

"From the club's perspective, we've had a pretty good year. We've probably just been a little inconsistent and have had a few injuries to key players.

"We haven't had a lot of depth and quality players to come up and replace them.

"But we've been able to play a lot of kids which has been good experience for them and will hold us in good stead for next year."

Hawkesdale-Macarthur travelled to Mortlake on Saturday, where it recorded its sixth victory of the season against cellar dweller Woorndoo-Mortlake.

The Eagles got off to a flying start, kicking nine goals to the Tigers' one.

"We were able to get first hands to the footy and we were delivering it really well into our forward line," Habel said.

The second quarter was the lowlight for the visitors as disciplinary issues and silly mistakes resulted in a handful of free kicks and a pair of 50-metre penalties.

Holding a 29-point advantage that the Tigers were threatening, Habel asked his players at the main break to get back to the basics.

They did, booting eight goals to the host's two in the third term to take a 65-point lead into the last change.

"We were able to maintain that and just kept the pressure on them," Habel said.

The final result was 25.20 (170) to 13.11 (89).

Onballer Simon Sharrock was a constant ball-winner for the Eagles while the coach also made a solid contribution, kicking six majors after starting the match in the forward line before being swung onto the ball in the second quarter.

Teenage full-forward Charlie Nield was also prominent, booting five goals. The final home-and-away round sees Hawkesdale-Macarthur clash against the side which snatched the flag from the Eagles' grasp last year - Tatyoon.