Lower Plenty ended its drought with a thrilling win over Panton Hill

The relief was palpable as the siren sounded on Lower Plenty’s first win of the season. Coach Phil Plunkett gives an insight into what it meant.

Lower Plenty celebrates its win. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Lower Plenty is on the board in 2023 with one of the most nerve-wrangling wins of the season.

The relief was palpable as the siren sounded, securing the Bears a two-point victory over Panton Hill at Montmorency Park on Saturday.

The Redbacks kicked the last four goals of the game, the last just seconds before the siren, as Lower held on 12.14 (86) to 12.10 (82).

Lower players were immediately mobbed by clubmates, friends and family on the ground, celebrating the club’s first senior win of the NFNL Division 2 season.

Ironically, against the club featuring several of its former star players, including Tom Keys and Matt Duckworth.

Lower Plenty celebrates its win. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Bears coach Phil Plunkett said it was great reward for his players.

“We finally got four quarters of footy together and were able to just hold on but we’re very happy and very relieved,” he said.

“We’ve had chances during the year but we’ve been undermanned, the boys have been trying and you can’t ask for anything more.

“We’d kicked away and then to Panton Hill’s credit they just kept coming in the last.

“I said to someone in the last quarter ‘how long to go’ and they go ‘it’s just gone six minutes’ so I was like ‘wow’ but we held on to the boys’ credit.”

Lower Plenty started strongly but kicked 2.5 in the first quarter to take a 10-point lead into quarter-time before Panton Hill kicked into gear in the second term and went into half-time with a four-point advantage.

The Bears again were wasteful in the third term, kicking 4.6, to build a 12-point margin at three-quarter-time.

They skipped out to what looked a match-winning lead with the first three goals of the final term through Brixton Timewell, Alden Meale and Jed Wallace.

It sparked Panton Hill into gear as Riley Livingstone booted three and Keys the fourth but the clock beat the Redbacks.

Livingstone would finish with eight goals to move into third on the league goalkicking charts.

Laurie Naismith celebrated his 150th senior match in the win, while captain Jordan Sacco was outstanding and Timewell impressed on a wing.

Plunkett also praised the impact of the club’s Northern Knights-listed talent – Nathan Raphael, Jed Wallace (three goals), Hudson Young, Seth Hill and Felix Bell.

“The young kids from the Knights were back in this week, they’re not only great kids but they bring a really good buzz and atmosphere.

“Even someone like Patty Flynn asked me have we got the Knights boys and he was rapt to have them, so if someone with his experience is looking forward to having the kids around it means the place is going in the right direction.

“From the pre-season through, Jordan has stepped up and led from the front with his pressure and in-and-under.

“If he’s off half-back or on ball he’s been our most consistent all year and was terrific again.

“Brixton plays on the wing and his defensive pressure is one of the things we’ve been asking for and I thought he played really well.

“He ran on and hit the scoreboard as well, which was an even bigger bonus, so his influence meant it was one of his bigger games.”

After arguably Lower Plenty’s lowest point last week, scoring just a single behind in a 139-point defeat to Diamond Creek, the club is firmly back in the hunt for survival.

It faces relegation rival Epping in a fortnight and Plunkett is confident his team can build some momentum from its breakthrough win.

“We pretty much just wrote (the Diamond Creek loss) straight off,” he said.

“Diamond Creek and Eltham are the two best sides in the competition and Diamond Creek’s defensive set-up is by far the best in the league.

“We know we’re in the rebuild phase and hopefully something like Saturday can start the ball rolling for the rest of the year and then into a strong pre-season.

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“It makes that (Epping) game even bigger, there’s still plenty of water to go under the bridge.

“Every game for us for the rest of the year is like a mini final and that’s the way we’ll be addressing very game and hopefully we can sneak another one in.”

Elsewhere in Division 2, St Mary’s pipped Northcote Park by eight points and Watsonia jumped into the top-five with a 29-point win over Thomastown.

League-leaders Diamond Creek thrashed third-placed South Morang by 61 points and Eltham eased past Epping by 19.