Diamond Creek survived an early Thomastown surge to finish 31-point winners in their MC Labour Division 2 battle at Main Street Recreation Reserve.
The Bears led by two points at half time before the Creekers took back control of the game, kicking the last six goals of the match to prevail 12.11 (83) to 7.10 (52).
As he had done many times last year, Jacob Booth was the key to the Creekers’ fightback in the second half. He won many clearances and provided lots of run for his side, also finishing the afternoon with a major.
Goals were hard to come by for Diamond Creek in the first half as their initial inaccuracy in front of goal threatened to haunt them, however Daniel Jarvis led the way inside 50 with three second half goals to help the visitors break away in the third term.
Meanwhile at the other end of the ground, Joel Randall was the standout, helping the Creekers get back to their defensive best in the second half by taking multiple intercept grabs at some of the most pivotal points of the match.
Kyle Green backed up an impressive Thomastown debut last week with another strong showing for his side on Saturday, producing a dazzling display in the midfield and kicking three majors for the game, one of which was an incredible banana kick from the boundary in the first quarter.
The same can be said for Nick Jolly, who took some great contested marks and provided some great assistance to Jarryd Coulson in the ruck.
The first quarter belonged to 2023 competition leading goalkicker James Lucente, who got back to his best after registering just one major last week, by kicking three opening term goals.
Thomastown kicked three of the first four goals of the game before Diamond Creek started to pick up some momentum as the quarter drove on.
They led by under a goal before Lucente’s third major on the quarter time siren gave Thomastown the early advantage.
A competitive second term followed but it was again the Bears who started the better of the two sides, with majors from Green and Aaron D’Angelo giving the home team a 17-point buffer three minutes into the quarter.
From then on however, Diamond Creek again turned the momentum back to their favour, winning more territory and more possession to put Thomastown on the backfoot.
Inaccuracy in front of goal prevented Andrew Tranquilli’s men from taking the lead at any stage of the term, however two majors courtesy of Andrew White at the 12 minute mark, and Tyler Barnes just moments before half time, made it a two-point ball game at the main break.
The Creekers would produce the important opening goal of the second half just six minutes into the third. The Bears could only answer with behinds momentarily, before each side traded goals midway through the quarter, resulting in multiple lead changes before time on.
Green’s third goal of the afternoon at the 12-minute mark was Thomastown’s seventh, but it would prove to be their last major of the match, with Diamond Creek’s defensive efforts going up a notch.
The Bears were unable to find any easy avenues to goal, while the Creekers fired the last three majors of the term to go into the final change 13 points to the good.
The intensity that had been evident in the first three quarters of the match was not as prominent in the final term, as Diamond Creek were able to take the sting out of the contest with their possession game through the backline.
They were able to extend the lead to a then game-high 19 points, before slotting two further goals to keep the Bears without a major in the final term, securing a 31-point triumph in the process.
