Brunswick NOBSPC overcome slow start to VAFA Division 1 campaign to score back-to-back wins

LUKE Mahoney’s first win as Brunswick NOBSPC coach will live long in the memory bank.

NOBSPC coach Luke Mahoney addresses his players. Picture: Richard Serong.

LUKE  Mahoney’s first win as Brunswick NOBSPC coach will live long in the memory bank.

After three losses to start his tenure at the Victorian Amateur Football Association club, Mahoney tasted victory for the first time as Brunswick NOBSPC coach against Old Paradians last weekend.

His side was cruising at three-quarter-time in the Round 4 Division 1 clash, building a 22-point lead in a low-scoring affair.

But Mahoney’s team tested his nerves by letting Paradians back into the contest.

The hosts had a chance to win the game after the siren at Garvey Oval, but to the Brunswick coach’s delight the 45m shot fell short.

“I don’t think I’ll forget my first game as a coach, or my first win,” Mahoney said.

“It was good to get a win on the board. Especially for the boys, it was reward for all the hard work they put in over pre-season.

“There was a scoring end out at Parade, they had the scoring end in the last quarter. We kicked our last goal at about the four-minute mark of the last quarter, it was an arm wrestle for about 15 minutes then they got a bit of a sniff.

“The way it ended up, them having a shot after the siren, wasn’t the way we’d planned it. We had to hold on the last five minutes.”

The 11.10 (76) to 10.12 (72) victory lifted Brunswick NOBSPC to ninth on the ladder, two points clear of Old Paradians after four rounds.

Mahoney’s side climbed to eighth on Saturday with an upset win over local rival Therry Penola.

The Lions threw everything they had at Brunswick NOBSPC in the final term but left themselves with too much to do after managing just 5.12 to three-quarter-time.

Kyle Docherty played a vital hand for Brunswick in its 13.11 (89) to 11.15 (81) triumph, slotting four goals.