Lower Plenty claims thrilling win over NFL Division 2 rival Eltham

As the rain tumbled down on Saturday, spectators could have been forgiven for thinking they’d travelled back in time as Lower Plenty and Eltham renewed their rivalry in a thriller.

Tom Keys in action for Lower Plenty. Picture: Hamish Blair

There was more than a little deja vu about Lower Plenty’s thrilling six-point win over Eltham on Saturday.

Spectators could be forgiven if they thought they’d travelled in time back to the 2018 NFL Division 2 grand final as the rain tumbled at Montmorency Park.

And just as it did in that famous decider, Lower Plenty overcame a three-quarter-time deficit to beat Eltham by six points.

“A little bit (of deja vu), yes, there’s a few comparisons with the rain and margin and the fact we were down at three-quarter-time,” Bears coach Ben Turner said after the game.

While the weekend’s result doesn’t have the same ramifications, it was still a critical victory for the Bears and devastating loss for the Panthers.

Alden Meale in action for Lower Plenty. Picture: Hamish Blair

Trailing by 12 points at the final change, Lower charged home with 5.4 to Eltham’s 2.4 and Alden Meale kicking the match-winner.

After going down to Banyule last week, Turner was thrilled with his players response and resilience under pressure.

“We were disappointed last weekend and coming up against another finals contender was a good opportunity for us to make some improvements,” he said

“We kicked the first goal (of the last quarter) and Eltham responded, we kicked the next and they responded again, so we could have been forgiven for throwing in the towel but we dug deep and got a really important win.

“When we looked at the fixture we knew the first few rounds were going to be challenging with Banyule, Eltham and Thomastown.

“Losing to a contender is disappointing but to respond against Eltham is a positive and we’ve got another challenge next week in Thomastown.”

Darcy Barden fires out a handball for Lower Plenty. Picture: Josie Hayden

The win lifts the Bears to 2-1 after three games while the Panthers drop to 2-2 after a win-loss-win-loss start to the campaign.

Josh Turner was adjudged best afield for Lower Plenty with co-captain Darcy Barden and Tom Keys close behind.

Turner’s massive last quarter was critical in dragging his team over the line.

“We could have thrown a blanket over the top three but Josh’s game across all four quarters was huge,” coach Turner said.

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“I think he had 38 possessions and 15 of those were in the last quarter, so a big influence on the game and the last quarter in particular.

“Tom is such a competitor and Darcy, being co-captain, he tries to will us over the line and none-more-so than (Saturday).”

Matthew Duckworth booted three goals for the Bears, while Daniel Jarvis and Michael Still did the same for Eltham who named Darcy Vallance and Bronson Glasgow as its best.

In the second all-Bears clash in three weeks, Lower Plenty will host Thomastown in a Round 4 blockbuster while Eltham will look to bounce back at Diamond Creek.