Stevie-Lee

Essendon crash in Thunder storm – Round 7

23.06.19 00:54

by Kyle Champion

In a game which Thunder was looking to regain their pride, they absolutely obliterated the Bombers like an unrelenting storm. The final margin saw NT Thunder 12.4 (76) defeat the Bombers 1.6 (12).

Thunder looked like a different side to last week from the opening bounce. Jasmyn Hewett had returned from injury and Janet Baird had started in the centre of the ground.

Thunder kicked things off with a bang and dominated centre clearances early. Jordan Hickey was leading well and clunking marks, Hannah Martin was bursting through congestion and showing real speed.

It wasn’t long before a quick boot off the deck by Stevie-Lee Thompson, got Thunder’s first goal for the game.

Hewett was next to claim a major. Under enormous pressure, she still managed to kick through the big sticks. Essendon was rattled and had no answers as Thunder brought the storm.

Baird and Nikki Gore were everywhere covering plenty of ground and feeding the forward line with precision kicking.

Soon Katie Streader was lining up in front of goal to kick NT’s third and Thunder was on a roll. Thompson hit the scoreboard again late as the Bombers were held scoreless in the opening term.

From the second quarter, Thunder continued where they left off. Centre clearances were still dominated by Thunder and their forwards put on a clinic.

Danielle Ponter managed to brush off the yips from last week kicking her first while Thompson claimed her third major off a dribbler that just got over the line.

Ponter struck again as poor checking by Essendon had her mark uncontested directly in front of goal.

Debutant Mattea Breed was having a day out in her first game, pinch-hitting in the ruck and digging into the contest showed the talent of the youth that NT has to offer.

Essendon tried to bring down tall timber Hickey in the forward line, but Hickey managed to keep her feet and kick her first major. Hickey kicked another just before the siren as Essendon were still yet to score.

In the third term, Essendon came out with real intent. They were peppering the goal face but only achieved minor scores. Even when lining up directly in front of goal on a slight angle, the Bombers blew their chance.

On the other side of the field, ex-AFLW Fremantle forward Jade de Melo was shifting into gear. After a 50-meter penalty gave de Melo a certainty in front of goal, she soon followed up with a quick a snap to kick back to back goals for Thunder.

Essendon had only scored two behinds as Thunder proved to be relentless heading into the final quarter.

The final act had both teams out on their feet. The game was well and truly over but both clubs dug in for the final minutes.

Ponter managed to find space in a horde of black and red to kick her third but Essendon only managed more behinds.

A tug of war lasted until the final seconds where Tiwi star Arthurina Moreen playing in Victorian colours finally broke the drought for Essendon.

She marked 20 metres out from goal and kicked the Bombers first and only major to end a one-sided affair.

Nikki Gore was one of Thunder’s standout player. She believed everyone had done their part including herself although she may walk sore for a while.

“I like to contribute and do my part, but today we all played as a team which was good. As for myself, I’m feeling pretty sore at the moment which is good because if I’m sore I know I played hard.”

The previous weekend Thunder suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Richmond. Thunder was itching to bounce back this week and with a win of 64 points, their spirits have been lifted.

“It felt awesome,” Gore said “Felt really great to get that win. Last week was a tough loss for us, we had a fair bit of the footy and we didn’t take our chances. This week we trained hard and we all stepped up today to get the win. Hopefully, there will be more to come.”

Gore has become one of Thunders handy utilities that can play multiple roles. However, in the past few weeks, she seems to have settled in the midfield.

“I’ve gotten thrown around a lot in my career,” she said. “I’ve played midfield, back, forward, I’ve played in every position so far. But I’m definitely enjoying the midfield at the moment.”

As an AFLW Adelaide Crows player, Gore is familiar with the class that is shown in Thunders midfield. Before she was drafted in 2018, she had the advantage of playing under the wing of Chelsea Randall in the Adelaide Crows academy.

“There are a few Adelaide girls up here that I trained with back at the Adelaide academy,” Gore said. “Chelsea Randall is definitely one that is always keen to help out and give some advice. It feels good playing with her and Jasmyn Hewitt in the midfield because they’re very experienced and are great players.”

Next week Thunder will travel down south to meet Williamstown at Downer Oval who are still winless this season.

Full Scores
NT Thunder: 4.0  9.3  11.3  12.4 (76)
Essendon: 0.0  0.0  0.2  1.6 (12)

Goals
NT Thunder:  Stevie-Lee Thompson 3, Danielle Ponter 3, Jasmyn Hewett 2, Jade de Melo 2, Jordan Hickey, Katie Streader
Essendon: Arthurina Moreen

Best
NT Thunder: Hannah Martin, Dayna Cox, Jade de Melo, Nikki Gore, Jasmyn Hewett, Mattea Breed
Essendon: Georgia Nanscawen, Maddie Collier, Lori Stepnell, Lauren Aherns, Simone Nalder, Eloise Ashley-Cooper