Eltham destroys finals rival Thomastown then takes out the bins
After taking Thomastown to the cleaners with a dazzling display, Eltham players then surprised again by cleaning up the ground after the game.
Northern
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Eltham not only cleaned up Thomastown on Saturday, it cleaned up after the game as well.
The Panthers were red-hot, claiming a 59-point win, to cement themselves as a premiership contender and retain top spot on the NFL Division 2 ladder.
Then, after singing the song the players returned to Central Park to clean up the ground, removing rubbish and tidying the stands for Sunday’s junior games.
Coach Rob Hyde said the initiative was player driven after seeing volunteers cleaning up in the dark after the previous home game.
“The leadership group has been super, they’ve taken control of driving some cultural things,” he said.
“Jackson (Weatherald) and Darcy (Vallance) made an observation after the last home game that some of the committee were out – when they were going home – in the dark cleaning up the oval to get it ready for the juniors.
“All the players got out after the game and did a lap of the oval with the bins and cleaned up for 15 minutes.
“They’re going to make that a thing they do just to say thanks to the club after each home game. It’s a fantastic initiative.”
It was an extraordinary display of club culture after an extraordinary club performance.
Eltham simply blew Thomastown off the park from the first siren, piling on five goals in a blistering first 15 minutes.
The Panthers booted six goals and kept the Bears scoreless in a dazzling first-quarter display to take a 38-point lead into the first break.
Young forwards Daniel Owen and Jason McCormick ran rampant as the midfield combination of Finnbar Maley, Bronson Glasgow, Anton Woods and Ben Montanaro pumped the ball forward.
Owen finished with four majors and takes the lead in the NFL Division 2 goalkicking race with 23 goals.
At the other end, Jaden Collins returned from Northern Bullants VFL duties to blanket Thomastown spearhead Michael Tang, keeping the dangerous forward to just one goal.
Hyde admitted he was stunned by his team’s dominance.
“It was a bit surprising to be honest with you.
“We went in hoping to be competitive and if we played well enough we’d get across the line but we had a blistering start and were able to put them on the back foot.
“We were able to maintain the intensity for the rest of the day, which was fantastic.
“They’re ruckman is a good player, Coulson, and had a couple of good patches but big Finnbar is 19 and Dave Evans is 20 and they outjumped him and particularly Finnbar then becomes like a ruck-rover around the ground because he’s so athletic.
“We got it forward and the two young fellas kicked the first five goals – Dan and Jason – and all of a sudden we go in and they haven’t scored.”
Glasgow was named best on ground, while Maley, Vallance, McCormick and Weatherald also impressed.
Coulson was Thomastown’s best in defeat, battling against the Panthers’ ruck tandem, while skipper Josh Beare and Aaron D’Angelo were also strong.
Hyde paid special tribute to Glasgow, who has stood up after several high-profile departures in the off-season.
“The last two or three weeks he’s really found his spot in the midfield, he hunts the footy and just charges it forward,” Hyde said.
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“He played second fiddle to Brent Macaffer and a couple of others and now he’s had to take on one of the main roles as a starting midfielder.
“He’s raised his game and certainly works really hard so it’s great for him to get the reward for all that work and be one of the key players in the midfield.”
Eltham will travel to St Mary’s on Saturday hoping to keep its winning run going, while Thomastown will hope to bounce back against Panton Hill at Main Street Reserve.
After drawing with Lower Plenty last week the Bears now sit seventh with a 2-1-3 record and will have to find a new gear if they’re to challenge for finals.
WHY ELTHAM IS GIVING HYDE CANNONS DEJA VU
Rob Hyde has one of the most successful records of producing elite young talent and Eltham is reaping the rewards.
Hyde coached NAB League club Calder Cannons for 11 years, winning three premierships, and led Vic Country in the Under-18 National Championships.
Despite losing a host of experienced players the Panthers sit on top of the NFL Division 2 ladder after a 117-point win over Epping.
Given the young talent at Central Park this season it’s no surprise Hyde’s getting a sense of deja vu.
“Somebody said that to me the other day, I enjoyed that part of my footy (coaching Calder),” Hyde said.
“I like talking to young blokes, they’re willing to learn and have no inhibitions about other teams.
“We’ve lost a fair few players and we’ve got about eight injured at the moment.
“The exciting thing is we’re playing young blokes and they’re just coming in and actually playing good footy.”
The likes of forward Daniel Owen, ruckmen Finnbar Maley and David Evans, Aiden Biddle and Jason McCormick have impressed when given the opportunity.
After an off-season upheaval, Hyde said it was time the club explored its league-leading youth structure.
“You lose (Brent) Macaffer, (Matt) Keys and Tim Currie and another four or five others, then (Daniel) McLinden and (Matt) Still, but Eltham’s always been proud of its juniors.
“I said to the club it’s time to stop bragging and starting playing them to see if they can become good senior players.”
Owen was named Eltham under-19 captain before the season but has made a stunning start at senior level.
The 19-year-old has booted 19 goals in the opening five games, including bags of eight and five in the past fortnight, to sit second on the competition’s goalkicking charts.
He was on Oakleigh Chargers’ NAB League list last season but was cut down by a knee injury and Hyde hopes he can get a look at a VFL list in the future.
“Dan’s the captain of the under-19s but he probably won’t be playing a game for them,” Hyde said.
“He’s a clever little kid and I hope we can get him an invite to a VFL club next year.
“We get Jason McCormick back this week, from the Knights, and the last time he played between he and Dan they kicked 13 goals, so it’s pretty exciting.”
With Matt Williamson out, the Panthers have turned to the Maley and Evans combination.
“Our two ruckmen, one’s 19 and the other’s 20, and they’re both just big, athletic players,” Hyde said.
“They’re like big ruck rovers, Finnbar has had 20 and 24 possessions the last two weeks.
“Dave is out of the under-19s, he starts forward and he’s kicked a couple of goals.
“It will be a learning curve this week coming up against (Jarryd) Coulson from Thomastown but as long as they learn and they might out run him around the ground.”
Eltham will slowly get players back in the coming weeks.
The likes of Williamson, Matt Byron, Jackson Weatherald, Brayden Taglieri, Jaden Collins, Alex Bellchambers are still unavailable, while Still played his first game of the season against Epping on Saturday.
But could be forced to fight for a senior spot if the Panthers cubs continue to shine.
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“The next three weeks will be a good challenge for us, that will sort us out a bit,” Hyde said.
“I think they’ll go out and enjoy it, they’ll learn and we set some parameters we’d like to achieve.
“There’s very few automatics, the rest have got to play good footy and hope these kids don’t perform.”
Eltham faces top-five rivals Thomastown, St Mary’s and Banyule in the next three weeks.
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