Tullamarine makes it back-to-back wins

Tullamarine has turned its season around in the last two weeks and likely helped to retain its Division 1 status. This is what’s sparked back-to-back wins.

Tullamarine hasn’t been afraid to make the big moves in 2023.

And it’s starting to make a difference — especially in the last two weeks.

The Demons have won their last two matches against Glenroy and Westmeadows, teams both below them on the ladder, to move two games clear of the drop to Division 2.

But even with an uptake in form, interim coach David Connell knows his side’s EDFL Division 1 status isn’t completely safe for next year.

“It’s not the time to put the cue in the rack,” he said.

“There has been a lot of external noise about our form this year but we’ve tried to deload the players from that. Four of our games over the remainder of the season are against sides who are in contention for or will play finals.

“This is a great opportunity for us to continue to grow and build towards next year. We’ve seen a little bit of growth in the past few weeks.

“We tinkered with a couple of things but the key has been consistency in team selection, 20 of the 22 guys who played on the weekend started in the same position as they did the week before.”

Matthew O'Dwyer of Tullamarine in action.Photo: Hamish Blair

After Ben Tankard was relieved of the senior coaching duties, it remained unclear how the Demons would handle the rest of the season.

Connell said the players deserved credit for their shift in attitude.

“We held a meeting on the Monday night to explain what was happening and on the Tuesday it was head down and back to work,” Connell said.

“The leaders have really driven moving forward into the next stage and continuing to improve.”

On Saturday, the Demons were far too good for Westmeadows winning 14.9 (93) to 8.10 (58).

Phil Taylor played a key role on Tigers star Aaron Evans holding him to one goal.

“I rate him highly,” Connell said of Evans.

“He has the ability to be a really damaging player for Westmeadows and we thought Phil would be the perfect person to play on him.

“Phil sacrificed his own game and played a really disciplined game.”

Tullamarine will now face a huge test against the undefeated West Coburg on Saturday.