THOMASTOWN opened its Division 2 season in spirited fashion, romping to victory over last year’s runner-up Lalor by 39 points at Lalor Reserve.
The new-look Bears were in-sync from the get-go in the 21.10 (136) to 14.13 (97) win, with 11 players kicking a goal, led by Jacob Osei-Duro with five majors.
Lalor, on the other hand, did not look like the side that played in last year’s Grand Final, managing just 2.8 to half time.
Thomastown was on the front foot from the first bounce. Jason Abela and Joseph Vaccaro both snapped early goals before David Folino and Jacob Osei-Duro opened their scoring accounts through free kicks.
The Bloods looked frustrated as the first quarter played out. They quickly became undisciplined, which was demonstrated through a scuffle that saw several yellow cards shown.
Thomastown added a further two goals thereafter to go into the quarter time break with a commanding 34-point lead.
Lalor coach Steve Marshall was, unsurprisingly, disappointed with his troops in the quarter time huddle, telling his troops to “not let them run away, to block and to put body on body”.
New recruit Carl Peterson opened the scoring for Thomastown in the second term, with a brilliant contested mark and goal.
Unfortunately for Lalor, its situation didn’t get much better after tempers flared again, resulting in a red card for the hosts.
The visitors continued to dominate through the centre of the ground as Abela scored his second goal of the afternoon, while Terry Dehghani also opened his scoring account.
Lalor was able to peg back two goals through Todd Hughes and Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, however its disposal efficiency was still poor as it headed into half time down by 49 points.
The stats also displayed the disparity between the two sides, with Thomastown laying 28 tackles in the first two quarters compared to Lalor’s 15.
Lalor had a more positive start to the third quarter. Hughes kicked his second goal from an impressive assist by Jarrod King, while Shannon Smith kicked his first soon after.
The Bears answered quickly and impressively, kicking the next six goals, highlighted by Osei-Duro’s extraordinary fourth major, which he scored from 50m on the boundary as he lost balance.
Lalor still managed to kick a further four goals for the quarter with Hughes and Scott Dowell booting two each, however an eight-goal term from the visitors ensured the margin remained at 50 points at three quarter time.
Thomastown coach Dean Sinclair was impressed with how his team “kept their heads” after Lalor’s opening two goals of the quarter; but reminded them to not ease off heading into the final term.
Adrian Natoli continued his splendid game, kicking his third goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter to extend the Bears lead to 56 points.
However, Lalor improved its performance in the fourth quarter, managing six goals for the term, which included two to Hughes who finished the day with six goals.
Anthony Calafiore added two more goals to the Bears tally late in proceedings, before Josh Beare’s major sealed a 39-point win for the visitors.
Osei-Duro was vital up forward for Thomastown with his five goals, while Sashe Spiroski and Natoli were also skilful around the ground.
Hughes was Lalor’s best with six goals, continuing his impressive goal kicking form after booting 81 majors last year. Scott Dowell was also gallant in defeat for the Bloods, kicking three goals.
Thomastown has the bye in Round 2 before hosting the Fitzroy Stars, while Lalor will be hoping to bounce back quickly when it travels to Hurstbridge this week.
Final score: Lalor 14.13 (97) def by Thomastown 21.10 (136)
