Brendan Fevola debuts in East Sunbury’s drought breaking win

Former AFL star Brendan Fevola made his return to local footy on Saturday helping his new club end its 1344-day losing streak.

Brendan Fevola at an East Sunbury training session during pre-season.

East Sunbury’s weekend was 1344 days in the making.

A first Essendon District Football League Division 2 senior men’s win since the 2021 season.

Between then, the Thunder spent 2022 in recess and hadn’t won a game after re-emerging from the local footy wilderness.

It was a moment the club had been building towards in the off-season with a huge recruiting drive headlined by former AFL star Brendan Fevola, who has signed on for two seasons.

“Everything we’re doing is for the long-term,” senior playing co-coach Dave Morrice said.

“We’ve built up well, it’s been a big team effort throughout the off-season to get to this point.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because we knows there’s so much improvement ahead of us.”

Fevola booted two goals and was as popular as ever but this momentous occasion against local rivals Sunbury Kangaroos was so much more than the four points and breaking the drought.

He wasn’t the only ex-AFL name to make his debut with former Richmond forward Todd Elton snagging four.

“Fev’s attitude was great, he’s just wanted to help the club wherever he can from the moment he signed,” Morrice said.

“But that goes for all of the new guys we’ve brought into the club. The influence they’ve had already has been unbelievable.

“They lead the way and the young guys are learning from them all the time. This is about us helping to set the club up for what it could be three to five years down the track.”

While the big names have attracted the attention during the off-season, a key factor in bolstering the playing list has been about bringing former players back to the club.

Mitch Trimboli and Thomas Cree are among those Morrice and his co-coach Juzzy Belleville had targeted.

“One thing we spoke about was bringing in experienced footballers so we could have leaders across every line,” Morrice said.

“They’ve made our jobs a lot easier and we all know how important one-pointers are.

“They’ve helped to steady us up.”

The scoreboard at the end of the game.

While Elton and Fevola might have been the headline acts inside forward 50, it was Thunder junior product Josh Crump who stole the show with seven majors.

He had never kicked more than two goals in a senior game before his efforts.

“He’s a very talented young lad,” Morrice said.

“Having those big names can help him develop and it’s been a good start to the season.”

East Sunbury will get an indication of where it stands in the competition when it takes on last year’s grand finalists Westmeadows in its next game.

The Tigers will be looking to bounce back after a 37-point to Coburg Districts in the season opener, where ex-AFL man Damien Cavka made his coaching debut for the Lions. Cavka kicked three goals in the win but it was power forward Jack McNamara who stole the show with a best on ground seven goal display. Pasquale Curcio, Zachary Kuret, Ian Fisher, Daniel Mifsud and Nikolas Dimeski were also named in the best.

Glenroy started its season with a bang after overcoming BurnsideHeights in a 68-point thumping. The Roys trailed by five points at the main break before turning up the heat defensively, conceding just another two goals for the game. Jake Young starred with five goals while off-season recruit Aaron Di Matteo kicked three. Another signing, ex-VFL player Julian Hemala, was best afield in his debut.

Andrew Beever’s Hadfield reign got off to the perfect start with a comfortable 40-point win over Northern Saints. Ali Elmaaraoui, Sam Godden, Patrick Ryan, Jack Slavich and Jack Wallace all kicked two goals apiece. Godden was best afield while ruckman Rhys Gleisner and Jake Polizzi impressed. Slavich and John Lindon caught the eye in their debuts for the Hawks.

In a battle between the two new teams in the division, Rupertswood held off a last quarter fightback from Keilor Park to prevail by five points, 13.8 (86) to 11.15 (81). Ned Crotty kicked the final goal of the game which proved critical as it gave the Sharks the lead to which they held on. The young forward finished with four goals. Adam Bartrop, Matt McDonald and Daniel Kavanagh were also named in the best. Mark Jamar kicked three goals on debut for Keilor Park.