Watsonia have asserted themselves as a finals contender and in the process, handed Thomastown their second consecutive defeat in MC Labour Division 2, with an impressive 32-point win at Binnak Park.
Despite a third term surge from the Bears, the Saints held their nerve and kicked five goals to two in the last quarter to run out 12.15 (87) to 8.7 (55) winners.
The victory only puts Watsonia outside of the top five by percentage, setting up a huge clash against the fifth placed St Mary’s next week. For Thomastown, they remain in seventh spot at the halfway mark of the season, but now sit six points away from the top five and will need to find some form to avoid missing out in September.
Saints coach George Lattouf was pleased with his side’s efforts throughout the match, in particular their fourth quarter composure that saw his side get over the line.
“That last quarter was a great team effort, they played exactly the way I wanted them to play,” he said.
The home side had seven individual goalkickers on the day, with James Lucente continuing his excellent goalkicking form by adding three majors off the back of kicking eight goals in the previous fortnight.
Lattouf said his rise in form has been a reward for effort on the training track.
“He’s always one of the first on the track and he’s just worked really hard in that forward 50 area, which he is very silky in,” he said.
“He does a lot of the one-percenters as well and sets up goals, which is what good little forwards do.”
Aaron D’Angelo and Tyla Barrow were solid contributors for the visitors and while skipper Joshua Beare did all he could up forward kicking two majors, the goals just weren’t coming often enough for the Bears to hit the lead at any stage,
In their last three defeats, Thomastown have had poor starts to the match, kicking no more than two goals while conceding an average of five majors for the term.
It’s exactly what occurred again on Saturday afternoon, with the Saints piling on 11 scoring shots and registering five majors while the Bears could only muster two goals.
The dominance from George Lattouf’s side continued into the second term, extending their lead to a game high 39 points while keeping the Bears goalless for the quarter.
While the Saints had all the control, a wayward 2.6 for the term almost came back to bite them in the second half, as Thomastown almost looked like a different side.
The visitors kept Watsonia scoreless for the term while kicking four majors themselves to reduce the margin to single digits heading into three quarter time.
But despite having the momentum heading into the final stanza, the Saints were able to take things up a gear, producing their second five goal term for the game to ensure they picked up the 32-point win.
The victory is their fifth of the season, the best return since joining Division 2 in 2018.
