Thomastown coach Mario Bandera on why win over Eltham was so important
Thomastown coach Mario Bandera came away with a critical win in his return to former club Eltham, completing a season sweep of the Panthers.
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“This was always going to be a defining month for us,” says Thomastown coach Mario Bandera.
The Bears face NFL Division 2 premiership rivals Diamond Creek, Eltham and Lower Plenty as well as Fitzroy Stars before their Good Friday bye and have started two-for-two.
Thomastown claimed a hard-fought eight-point win at Eltham Central Park on Saturday, backing up a 16-point win over the Creekers last week.
Bears now occupy the top three positions on the ladder, setting up a blockbuster second v third clash against Lower Plenty at Main Street.
Bandera said both teams could walk away with their head held high after the thrilling 13.7 (85) to 11.11 (77) win.
“The weekend’s game was just a cracker of a contest, one of the best I’ve been involved in,” he said.
“The atmosphere from both sets of supporters was huge, the place was genuinely rocking in the last 10 minutes.
“It was one of those games, it’s easy for me to say being on the positive side, but even if I was on the negative end you’d look back and say it was a good game of footy.
“When the fixture came out this was always going to be a defining month for us before the bye.
“As the season’s played out that definitely what’s happened and to have nabbed the first two has put us in a really good position.”
Leading by 15 points at three-quarter-time a miraculous goal from co-captain Matthew Vasilesvki put the visitors up by 21 points early in the final term.
However, Eltham fired straight back and hit the lead with less than five minutes remaining.
Kane Slater proved the hero for Thomastown with the match-winning goal and Ben Nesci kicked truly after the siren to extend the margin.
Ruckman Joel Carter was best-on-ground in the win in a dominant performance, while Salvatore Mamone was the star up forward with four majors.
Adrian Natoli and Josh Beare also impressed, while Jackson Weatherald, Brent Macaffer and Lane Sinclair (three goals) were Eltham’s best.
“I tried (Mamone) down in defence early in the year, but with all the injuries we’ve copped we’ve tried to put more stability into our forward line.
“He was awesome, his forward pressure is immense for us, and when we needed other players to stand up he did.
“Tangy is hard to replace but we went for a small forward line and Kane and Sal had a really big impact and so did Ben Nesci.
“Joel was huge, his ruck work and play around the ground, he took three monster marks on the weekend.
“He came to us and had a lot of learning to do and he’s gone from strength to strength … the quality of players he’s training with – Tyrone, Tangy, Rizzo, Chadwick, Matt Vas – it’s helping him go to another level.”
It’s Thomastown’s second win over Eltham this season after an 11-point triumph in Round 1.
Bandera, a former Panthers coach, admitted returning to his old club did add some interest but was simply pleased to beat a flag rival.
“Anytime you go back to your old footy club it does have extra meaning,” he said.
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“This year I’ve gone back to Epping, I’ve gone back to Lower, Eltham obviously and North Heidelberg when I coached against them previously, so I’ve got experience going back to old clubs – doesn’t paint a great picture of me.
“Knowing we’re both sides competing for finals spots it definitely had an extra edge but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it more than I would have if it was another team in the same sort of position.”
Thomastown could be boosted for the clash against Lower Plenty with Michael Tang, Anthony Capeci and Tyrone Leonardis all in line to return from injury
Eltham will look to bounce back when it hosts Diamond Creek in a fourth v fifth clash at Central Park.
THOMASTOWN PAYS HEAVY PRICE FOR BIG WIN
Thomastown secured a vital four points in the NFL Division 2 finals battle but could have to pay a heavy price.
The Bears’ 16-point win sees them leap-frog top-five rival Diamond Creek into fourth and avenge a Round 5 loss to the Creekers.
However, the 8.8 (56) to 5.10 (40) win was soured by a knee injury to Michael Tang.
The star midfielder-forward limped from the field in the third quarter after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.
Tang had already kicked four goals to that point, taking him to 22 for the season and the top of the league goalkicking charts.
Thomastown coach Mario Bandera was hopeful it wasn’t a long-term injury.
“We’ll have to wait and see but initial assessments rule out an ACL … we’re hoping it’s just bruised,” he said.
“He said he marked it and landed on the defender’s foot and felt a pop.
“He’s hardly ever played forward but I’d argue he’s one of the best forwards in the comp, up until today he’d played two and a half games at full forward and was coming second in the goalkicking.”
Tang’s loss would be a major blow to Thomastown’s season hopes but the Bears will be buoyed by the imminent return of Tyrone Leonardis and Anthony Capeci.
Capeci kicked 10 goals in the opening two games of the season before injury struck, while Leonardis has missed the past two games.
The Bears also welcomed back Todd Hughes back for his first game of the season with the veteran forward winding back the clock with a 60m bomb in the final quarter.
“(Leonardis and Capeci) they’re hopefully back next week, the break helped us there,” Bandera said.
“If it’s not the Eltham game it will be the Lower game, we’re hoping one or both will be back next week.
“Our forward line was starting to look good with JB (Beare) back and all of a sudden we’ve got a bit of structure.
“We’re lucky to have a bloke like Todd Hughes, who’s working his way back from injury, he kicked two and just a smart veteran who knows how to find the goals.
“He was the 23rd man and it’s just about managing him and getting to where we want him in five or six weeks time.”
In a tight, contested game both sides struggled to hit the scoreboard with just four goals combined in the first half.
Thomastown jumped out to a four-goal lead midway through the third quarter before two late goals from Diamond Creek reduced the margin to 14 at the final break.
The Creekers came within 10 points on two occasions but missed big opportunities at critical times.
Daniel Bramich impressed in defence for Thomastown, taking several important intercept marks, while Michael Tabacco, Aaron D’Angelo and James Rizzolio were also among the best.
Joel Randall and Michael Lewis were standouts for Diamond Creek.
Bandera was pleased with his team’s ability to learn from the loss earlier in the season.
“It was a turning point for us because last time we played them they smashed us (in midfield),” he said.
“We only got beaten by nine points but I think they nearly tripled or quadrupled us in the clearances, it was embarrassing.
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“We won the clearances count by a fair way today, so kudos to our mids, we broke even in the centre clearances but around the ground we got on top.
“I’m rapt with (our contested footy), that’s something we focus on and something we want to be known for.
“We want to be known as a team that’s hard and tough and contested and bring a lot of heat.”
Thomastown take on Eltham in Round 11, while Diamond Creek will look to bounce back against Watsonia.
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