by Murray Silby
NT Thunder has continued its stellar inaugural season in the VFL W with a 72-point victory over Essendon.
Playing its first-ever home game at TIO Stadium in Darwin, Thunder was given a scare in the first quarter with the Bombers opening with the first three goals of the match.
With an energetic Essendon side piling on the pressure in its forward 50 the Thunder players took until the 14th minute to get their first major on the board through Jessica Sedunary.
Her strong contested mark was followed by a 50-metre penalty that put her well within range, and she didn’t disappoint.
That goal seemed to help Thunder settle into the occasion, and they kicked the next two goals through Jordann Hickey and captain Angela Foley as if to prove the point.
Despite the extra possession though, Thunder still went to the first change two points down after the NT’s own Danielle Ponter kicked a beauty for the Bombers just before the siren.
Extra possession turned to outright domination in the second term though.
The Thunder women piled on 5.2 to the Bombers’ nothing.
Emma Swanson signalled the intent after less than a minute when the first of her two goals for the term rolled through without being touched.
Eloise Jones, Deni Varnhagen and Foley were the others to turn the screws with majors.
There wasn’t any let up for the visiting Bombers in the third quarter either.
Machaelia Roberts capped off a brilliant three minutes of play with a left foot snap for goal, Sedunary added her second, Renee Forth kicked her first and Georgia Bevan her first.
To Essendon’s credit, it never gave in and continued to maintain as much pressure as they could under oppressive circumstances.
The match tightened up in the final quarter with Thunder only able to add another two goals through Roberts and Jasmyn Hewett.
It was a remarkable turnaround from quarter time though, from a two-point deficit, Thunder amassed 11.8 to nothing to record a 72-point victory.
All achieved while being a player down after NTFL Rising Star Janet Baird left the field with a knee injury 10 minutes into the first quarter. Thankfully for the young gun, the club doctors aren’t reporting any significant damage but will send her for further scans.
The win follows its 54-point victory over Darebin in the opening round and gives it a perfect two wins from two games.
The form of his players has Thunder coach Tim Weatherald very pleased with his squad.
“They gave me a bit of a fright in that first quarter, but they were brilliant after quarter time,” he said.
“We were a bit more composed with the ball, we didn’t rush it going forward and used it a lot better, and that really helped us.
“I thought our wingers and centre line players were really good and made it difficult for them to get it out of our forward line and eventually we were going to score and in the end we did.
“Our tackling pressure and one percenters. Even in that last quarter when we were eight goals up, we were still making smothers and still taking the opponents down. Just that willingness to stay involved.
Goal-kicker Jasmyn Hewett said the first game in front of the Darwin home crowd was a memorable experience.
“It’s always extra special playing at home with familiar voices coming from the crowd,” she said.
Hewett said the most pleasing aspect was the way the whole team contributed.
“It was definitely a joint effort. We try to get those rotations happening, so it’s not the same person every time so it’s good to have that depth.”
NT THUNDER 3.4, 8.6, 12.8, 14.12 (96)
ESSENDON 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0 (24)
GOALS: NT Thunder – Angela Foley 2, Machaelia Roberts 2, Jessica Sedunary 2, Emma Swanson 2, Georgia Bevan, Renee Forth, Jasmyn Hewett, Jordann Hickey, Eloise Jones, Deni Varnhagen.
Essendon – Natasha Hardy 2, Kendra Heil, Danielle Ponter.
BEST: NT Thunder – Emma Swanson, Jessica Sedunary, Georgia Bevan, Eloise Jones, Renee Forth.
Essendon – Simone Nalder, Kirby Hicks, Alex Quigley, Natasha Hardy, Courtney Ugle.