Thomastown surges into NFL Division 2 finals with win over St Mary’s
Thomastown has completed one of the all-time great revivals, surging into NFL Division 2 finals after its season looked dead.
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Not even a freak storm could stop Thomastown’s miracle run to NFL Division 2 finals.
The Bears secured fifth spot with a dramatic 19-point win over St Mary’s at Whatmough Park on Saturday to complete a stunning season revival.
Heavy rain and lightning forced the game to be halted for 15 minutes in the third quarter before play resumed and Thomastown triumphed 11.13 (79) to 7.18 (60).
Considered a premiership contender after a strong off-season, the Bears’ season looked cooked after a 3-1-8 start, sitting eighth after Round 12.
Coach Mario Bandera departed after the Round 11 loss to Banyule and a defeat to Eltham the following week left the club three-and-a-half games out of the top five.
However, the Bears would win five of their last six games to storm back into finals contention.
Saturday’s victory, combined with Watsonia’s loss to Banyule, sees Thomastown leap from seventh to fifth and sets up an elimination final against Diamond Creek.
Interim coach Daniel Bramich said his players showed their quality with the season on the line.
“All the outside noise was we had nothing to lose but we did,” he said.
“We had everything to play for … realistically our pre-season expectation was finals so we had everything to lose.
“People were fancying us for the premiership and all of a sudden we had a bad run, we couldn’t click and everyone beat up on us when we lost.
“From where we were to make finals is a positive but we expected to be at this stage of the year and we’re not happy to just make it.
“Moving forward we’re going in with all confidence, knowing we’re a red-hot chance of winning and going deep into finals.
St Mary’s took a one-point lead into half-time but Thomastown was quickly back on top before the wild weather arrived.
As if final day drama wasn’t enough, the freak storm forced officials to stop the game for 15 minutes in the third quarter as rain and lightning lashed the northern suburbs.
Nick Dean kicked a goal immediately after the stoppage to give St Mary’s an early momentum boost before the Bears regained control, skipping out to a 27-point lead at three-quarter-time.
Having led when the game was stopped Thomastown would have been awarded the win but Bramich was pleased his team was allowed to finish the job.
With the game in the balance, star forward Anthony Capeci kicked a miraculous goal in the final term to break the Burras resistance.
“It would have been a crazy way to get into finals but at the end of the day the game was finished and the boys fought hard for the win,” he said.
“It was a winner takes all scenario and who would have thought lightning might call the game off and then people were thinking it’s a draw and we’d missed out.
“We couldn’t let emotions get the best of us, we’d been a bit emotional the last couple of weeks when side got a run on and didn’t know how to handle it.
“We were struggling to get the ball up our end and all of a sudden Ant Capeci, running back towards goal kicked a mid-air volley for a miracle goal.
“It really galvanised us for that final push, it was very much Tim Cahill in the Netherlands game, he’s kicked it out of mid-air and it’s gone straight through.”
Capeci and Michael Tang finished with three goals, while Lawrence Lopiccolo, Matt Vasilevski and Aaron D’Angelo were the Bears’ best.
Tane Cotter, Joe Maggio, Zac Hudson and Jake Dambrauskas were St Mary’s best in defeat.
For St Mary’s it’s a devastating end to the season.
The Burras looked on track for a maiden Division 2 finals appearance before losing five of their last six games.
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Bramich praised both clubs for an outstanding atmosphere.
“It was like a soccer atmosphere, it was really passionate on both sides,” he said.
“The best part was all the players and spectators were in the rooms (after), the respect on the field and off the field was pretty deep.
“The atmosphere was finals like knowing it was pretty much an elimination final for both sides, it was great to be a part of.”
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