Thomastown will look to inch closer to the top-two of the A Plus Labour Division 2 ladder when it takes on North Heidelberg this Saturday.
The Bears are one of form teams in the competition after upsetting Diamond Creek by 12 points at the weekend to make it four wins on the trot.
Thomastown coach Ben Chapman said while he wasn’t surprised by his club’s slow start, which included three successive loses from Round 3-5, its recent form hasn’t shocked him either.
“When a new coach goes in it doesn’t happen straight away, it takes a while for the players to learn what you are going to do and become used to it,” Chapman told NFL.org.au.
“Our early season form was a little bit up and down to be quite truthful. We managed to win the first couple but then we played Diamond Creek, North Heidelberg and Fitzroy Stars and were caught short in all of those games.”
Chapman said the come-from-behind win over Lalor in Round 6 was the moment the Bears realised their potential.
Trailing by 38 points at three-quarter-time, the Bears piled on eight-unanswered goals in the last quarter so steal a stunning 18-point away win.
“In the last quarter of the Lalor game the boys just clicked and since then we are slowly getting to where we want to get to.”
The Bears didn’t surrender the lead from the second quarter onward last weekend against Diamond Creek and Chapman believes it was their strongest performance of the year.
“On the weekend it all came together and some times you have games like that,” he said.
“We had 22 contributors which is something we probably haven’t had in any game so far.
“When you have everyone playing their role you’re going to be ultra competitive no matter who you play.
“The weekend showed we can match it with the best and we have taken some real confidence from the last month.”
Chapman’s Bears will face the toughest task in A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 this Saturday – stopping Brent Harvey.
The North Heidelberg superstar has continued his unstoppable form in recent times, receiving the most coaches’ votes in Division 2 in the opening half of the year.
“We just have to try and nullify his affect on the game,” Chapman said.
“He’s going to get the ball and there’s no doubt about that, we just have to try and make sure when he does get the ball he isn’t in positions to hurt you.”
However, Chapman was adamant there is more to North Heidelberg than the AFL record games holder.
“We know the potency they’ve got. They are more than just the two Harveys,” he said.
“If you don’t pressure and you can’t cut the ball off, they are going to score. That’s just the way they are.”
“We aren’t going to play 8 or 9 defenders or anything silly like that, but we will just rely on our pressure level to be high.
“If we turn it into a shootout then more than likely we won’t get the result that we are after.”
Thomastown’s midfield stocks have been dealt a blow, with a trio of its best players expected to miss a bulk of the second half of the season.
James Rizzolio and Matthew Cupo have both headed overseas, with Cupo likely to miss the remainder of the year, while the in-form Daniel Chadwick looks likely to miss the Bears’ charge toward the finals after breaking his leg against Diamond Creek.
“Three of our best midfielders are out, but that just creates opportunities for other blokes and I was really happy with the guys that went through there on the weekend,” Chapman said.
Saturday’s match will be held at Main Street Recreation Reserve.
