Ex-VFL Bomber stars in Therry Penola debut under Damien Peverill

Therry Penola coach Damien Peverill can joke about it now but he was glad to get the first win under the belt on Saturday to avoid a repeat of 2019’s rough start.

Jacob Gough in action for Therry Penola. Picture: Mark Wilson

Therry Penola coach Damien Peverill joked the pressure was off after the Lions secured a Round 1 VAFA Division 1 win on Saturday.

The club started 2019 – Peverill’s first season in charge – with three straight losses but there will be no repeat in 2021 after a 13-point win over Oakleigh at John Pascoe Fawkner Reserve.

It was also a breakthrough win over the Devils after 39- and 32-point defeats in 2019.

“It was good to get the win and start the season ahead of the ledger, it takes a bit of pressure off the coach, that’s for sure,” Peverill said.

“To be honest, in general play we played much better than them and a lot of their goals came directly from free kicks. We should have won by more than what we did.”

Darcy Ryan in action for Therry Penola. Picture: Mark Wilson

Trailing by seven points at half-time, Therry Penola held Oakleigh to just two goals after half-time.

The Lions kicked five goals to one in a match-defining third quarter to establish a 15-point buffer, a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, running out 10.8 (68) to 7.13 (55) winners.

The addition of former Essendon VFL-listed utility Jacob Atley and a change of scenery for Rory MacGregor paid off for Peverill with the pair standouts across half-back.

“Rory has always been a half-forward or on the wing and he spoke to me during the pre-season and asked if he could have a game off half-back,” Peverill said.

“I said I’d be happy to have a look, half expecting him to end up back on the wing, but the way he played on the weekend was really good.

“All the defenders helped each other out and having a guy like Jacob in the team – he’s a really experienced player – definitely helped out.

“He is one we can play in a variety of roles but given (Oakleigh) have got Aaron Cloke up there, one of the best players in division, we thought we needed as much experience as we could in the backline.

“Moving forward he might be on the wing or up forward or we can run him through the midfield, so it will be a week-to-week proposition with Jacob.”

Kane O’Halloran kicked four goals in the win to lead the way for Therry Penola, while Daniel Tadinac added three.

Despite 18 months off Therry’s squad has remained stable between 2019 and 2021 with only a handful of new faces featuring in Round 1.

Atley will be a key addition as the Lions chase a place in the finals for the first time since 2018.

Peverill said there were a lot of unknowns heading into the new season.

“Jacob was going to play in 2020, so he’s in this year, and Finn Dolan is one of our under-19 players and he’ll go between us and school footy with Essendon grammar,” he said.

PREMIER: PERFECT 10 FOR OLD XAVS, BEWICK

LEADER: GET YOUR AMATEUR FOOTY NEWS HERE

DIV 1: PIRATES FALL SHORT IN PAYZE’S MILESTONE

“Emmett Moloney came from Ocean Grove and our other first-gamer was Tom Morrison, who’s played under-19s for us and probably won one game in three years, so it was good to get him into the team and get a win first up.

“The goal is to play finals but in terms of expectations, like a lot of other clubs we just don’t know where we sit.

“It’s been so long since we last played, until we get a good look at how other clubs are travelling over the next month or so, we don’t know.”

Peverill’s men will look to make it two from two when it travels to Peninsula in Round 2.