East Sunbury’s win over Jacana on Saturday in Essendon District Football League division 2 was a big moment for the club.
It’s the first time the senior side has defeated a club other than Burnside Heights and Keilor Park – and it was the first time the side had won three games in a row since fielding a senior side in 2013.
East Sunbury jumped out of the blocks on Saturday but the Jaguars hit back to close the margin to a point at quarter-time.
Early in the second quarter, the Jaguars had all the play down their end of the field but couldn’t convert.
The tide turned the Thunder’s way just before half-time and they increased their lead.
For most of the second half, it was all the Thunder. They increased the lead at each break, eventually winning 17.9 (111)-10.7 (67).
Thunder coach Steve Grey said the club needed a win like that.
“Going forward, three in a row is fantastic – it’s about getting the momentum going now,” he said.
He said the team’s confidence was growing with each win and that a couple of changes had paid dividends.
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“I probably rotated the players a lot more than I normally do today, as we’ve struggled to run out games,” he said.
“It’s an area that we’ve looked at the last few weeks and it was probably helped by having four 18-year-olds coming in with fresh legs.
“The last three weeks, we’ve been moving the ball a lot better … decision making and hitting targets has improved by probably 40 per cent.”
Grey was full of praise for the four under-18 players – brothers Jaxon and Corey Mobilio, Thomas Cree and Lachlan Byrne – none of whom looked out of their depth.
“What they do on the football field is fantastic,” he said. “They showed some of the senior players how it’s done.”
Grey said there was plenty of hard work ahead and he hoped having more depth and a fitter playing group would hold the side in good stead for the rest of the season.
“We’ve got a couple of good tests ahead,” he said. “We’ve got East Keilor and then Moonee Valley – they are the next hurdles.”
The Thunder are fifth on the ladder, one game outside the top four.
