By Tara Murray
East Sunbury is regaining its confidence in the Essendon District Football League division 2.
After a nightmare period which saw the team slip from first place on the back of four losses, the Thunder appear to be back on track.
On Saturday, they defeated Burnside Heights, which has earned a reputation as a giant-killer in recent rounds.
The Bears looked like they were going to claim another scalp when they held the lead at three-quarter time, but a six goal to two last quarter by the Thunder got them a 15.11 (101)-13.4 (82) win.
Thunder coach Glenn Hopkins was pretty happy with the win.
“We played the way we wanted to for four quarters,” he said.
“We overran them and our pace showed out in the second half.
“It was excellent to be on for the whole game.”`
Hopkins highlighted skipper Lucas Shaw [three goals], Tom Cree and Kamen Ogilvie as three of the standouts, with all three playing key roles in the midfield.
He said they needed those sorts of players to be playing well to win matches.
Jason McMahon and Mitchell Johns were also named in the best.
The win is the Thunder’s second straight after a four-game losing streak.
Hopkins, who took over as coach three games ago, said the confidence was returning to the playing group.
“There’s a different mind-set from a month ago,” he said. “We’re really trying not to change too much. The guys are back and getting their confident frame of mind.
“We’ve done what we aimed to do, to get back on track.”
Hopkins said he was enjoying the challenge of coaching again and said he was excited by the young playing group.
The Thunder has four games left this season, before a possible first finals appearance.
With all but one team still in finals contention, Hopkins knows there will be no easy match.
This week they face Northern Saints, who thrashed them by more than 100 points last time the two teams met.
“The next four matches are against quality teams and we’ll see where we’re at,” he said.
“The next three games are at home … we need to make the most of playing at home.”
In other EDFL news, the women’s finals series gets under way this weekend.
The Sunbury Kangaroos will play Burnside Heights in a qualifying final, while the Sunbury Lions will play Keilor in an elimination final.
Both teams play at noon on Sunday.
