BOROONDARA Thunder has turned heartbreak into celebration, bouncing back from a two-goal loss in Round 1 to defeat Darebin Dragons by a goal in Round 2 of the M-League Men’s Premier division clash. In an eerily similar game to a week earlier, the Thunder got up 48-47 having gone down 45-47 to Ariels in Round 1. But on this occasion, it would the Thunder breathing a sigh of relief, as they handed Darebin its second straight loss of the season.

Despite the result, it looked far from going that way one quarter in, as the Dragons – who suffered heavy defeat in Round 1 – piled on 15 goals to eight in the opening term. Alexander Nichols shot eight goals, with Julian Taylor (seven) combining well, with Darebin well on top across the first 15 minutes. The result prompted a shuffle in the midcourt for Boroondara, as James Robertson moved from centre to wing attack, and Tory Allen – who had starred last week – came on in centre to play the last three quarters.

His influence proved critical yet again, while Ethan Spiteri started to get more open looks and fired off seven goals in the second quarter to make it 12 for the half as the Thunder cut the deficit to six by the main break. In defence, Tim Malmo was starting to get on top, even though Nichols had a huge first half. In the third term, David Chisholm came on and was simply unstoppable under the post for the Thunder, earning best on court honours as he fired off 22 goals in the half.

The Dragons tried to counter it up the other end with Tom Fisher coming on at goal attack and Steve McCallum at wing attack, but the Thunder had the momentum. They further cut into the deficit to trail by just four goals at the final break, and then slammed home 15-10 in the last quarter to hit the front. Chisholm (nine goals ) was superb, and while Nichols did return later in the quarter, it was not enough, with the Thunder getting up by a solitary goal, 48-47.

Meanwhile in the other matches, Altona Falcons took full advantage of an understrength St Therese outfit to win by 13 goals over the reigning premiers. With Australia’s men’s team down in Auckland, St Therese was minus Riley Richardson and Ronan Pring, while young gun shooter Connor Lily was also unavailable. The Falcons were missing Under 20s national representative Joshua Feeney themselves, but had a more settled team, which resulted in an impressive 55-42 victory. Sam Dugan was outstanding in goal defence, with Andrew Lewis (30 goals) powerful in attack, and Zac Mabilia key in centre. Jake Hederics‘ move from goal keeper to goal shooter in the second half paid dividends, shooting 15 goals for St Therese in a losing side.

Speaking of understrength, the Netblacks were minus their two star players, who were also down in Auckland representing New Zealand. It gave the reigning grand finalists a chance to try out some new players in other positions, with Junior Levi and Deepak Patu both missing due to the national commitments. Ariels took full advantage by getting up, 51-38, as Dan Stone shot 27 goals in the win, while Dan King was crucial up the other end. Asalele Alefaio was the best for Netblacks, trying hard in goal keeper, while a number of players had increased roles.

VMMNA MEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Altona Falcons (55) defeated St Therese (42)
Boroondara Thunder (48) defeated Darebin Dragons (47)
Ariels (51) defeated Netblacks (38)