Wimmera: Southern Mallee Thunders thrashes Warrack Eagles in season opener

Southern Mallee Thunder has started life as a merged club in style, delivering a 129-point thrashing in the seniors, while wins to the juniors capped off a perfect day.

Southern Mallee Thunder has started life as a new club in ominous fashion with a 129-point demolition job on Warrack Eagles on Saturday.

After playing off in grand finals last year, Southern Mallee Giants and Jeparit-Rainbow executed an off-season merger to shore up junior player numbers with its under-14s and under-17s also having first-up victories in the Wimmera league opening round.

Thunder’s first game was played at Jeparit with grounds at Rainbow, Hopetoun and Beulah to also be used this season.

It began in devastating fashion with nine goals to nil in the first term with Queensland recruit Brad Rowe and Tom Clarke finishing the match with five each.

Jubilant Southern Mallee Thunder players, from left, Kai Sheers, Liam Nelson, Rupert Sangster and Zac Robins after the win over Warrack Eagles. Picture: Georgia Hallam

Clarke was one of seven players who helped Jeparit-Rainbow into the Horsham District league grand final last year only to lose to Harrow-Balmoral.

The others were club president Lucas Edelsten, Xavier Oakley, Tom Schumann, Tom Long, Trent Burgoyne and Simon Clugston.

Key defender Clugston was heavily concussed in an incident early in third term involving an opposition player, who was red-carded and will face the tribunal this week.

The match stopped for at least 30 minutes awaiting an ambulance to arrive.

It’s expected Clugston won’t play for at least a month.

Southern Mallee Thunder coach Kieran Delahunty launches himself over the pack. Picture: Georgia Hallam

Thunder coach Kieran Delahunty said it was the best possible start for the merged club.

“I didn’t really know how it was going to play out,” he said.

“But our first quarter was some of the best footy I’ve been part of in a long time.

“They were obviously a little bit shell-shocked with the way we played.

“They did beat us the last time we played them and we were keen to turn the tables.”

The Eagles secured Ararat premiership coach Matt Walder in the off-season and retained former Adelaide player Kyle Cheney.

Edelsten said wins by the club’s two junior teams capped off a perfect day.

“It was bigger than any final played at Jeparit, Rainbow, Beulah or Hopetoun,” he said.

“It was absolutely massive.”

He said the decision to merge had been justified given recent changes to age group eligibility rules that caught clubs and leagues off guard a month from the season starting.

“If we didn’t merge this year neither of us would have had a junior side with what’s happened,” he said.

“We would have also battled for a reserves team because you can no longer play those kids up.”