By David Nagel
Tooradin-Dalmore coach Jordan Kelly has chalked up his first senior success after the Seagulls ground out a 40-point victory – 14.18(102) to 9.8(62) – over Warragul Industrials on Anzac Day.
The Gulls not only opened their season account against the Dusties, but gained a modicum of revenge after being knocked out of the competition in week one of last year’s finals series.
Kelly – the 2022 premiership captain – had the Seagulls pumped up for the huge occasion, with the Gulls and Dusties making Anzac Day their own in recent years.
The Seagulls kicked the opening four goals of the match, to lead by 21 points at quarter time.
Sharp-shooter Stewie Scanlon got the ball rolling with an early settler before Johnny Duff set fire with two goals in three minutes.
The Dusties then shot themselves in the foot, kicking five consecutive behinds before the inevitable happened; with Brad Butler kicking a goal from the Seagulls only shot at goal in 12 minutes to open up their handy lead at the first break.
Nic Visser then gave the Dusties a lifeline at the start of the second term, before Scanlon responded two minutes later.
The Dusties then started to make inroads, with youngsters Cody Templeton and Tom Cornwall cutting the margin to 12 points before Visser kicked his second to cut the deficit to six…in red-time in the second quarter.
Cornwall was proving a nuisance for the Seagulls defence.
He slotted the opening goal of the third term, before veteran Shane Brewster gave the Dusties an unlikely lead midway through the quarter.
Duff and Piva Wright then answered for the Gulls, but when Cornwall kicked another the margin was back to three points; heading to time-on in the third.
Xavier Shinners and Wright then kicked two important goals to give the home side a 17-point lead at the final break.
Everything needed to go right for the Dusties to stage a successful comeback.
Jed Pinkerton started the chase in style, booting the opening goal of the last, before Scanlon produced a match-winning burst of football.
He kicked three consecutive goals; breaking the backbone of the Dusties who had done so well to stay in touch in the contest.
Youngster Panos Papas then put two final nails in the coffin; stretching the margin out to more than the contest deserved.
Scanlon finished with four for the Seagulls, and Duff and Wright three, while Papas made the most of his chances in the final term.
Running-machine Lewis Hill was sensational for the Gulls; while the class of Adam Oxley and grunt of Ray Lengyel helped the home-side sing its song for the first time in 2024.
Kelly can now take a deep breath after his first win at the helm.
“It is a relief, it’s not the nicest feeling losing the first two so it was nice to get one under the belt,” Kelly said.
“We were right in the first two games so we were pretty confident that if we played near our best we’d go pretty well.
“We’ve definitely got work to do, we know that, but relief is definitely a good way to describe the feeling.”
The Gulls suffered a close loss to Cora Lynn in round one, but surprised the football world with a four-point loss to Kilcunda-Bass in round two.
“We knew how good they (Kilcunda-Bass) were going to be, having played a lot of those guys in South East footy over the years, so we were under no illusion as to how difficult it would be,” Kelly said.
“They played well, and transitioned the ball well, but our discipline was a major factor that day, giving away six 50-metre penalties and two 100-metre ones that walked the ball to the goal-square.
“When you lose by four points, those types of things hurt.”
The Seagulls lost some absolute class in the off-season, with ball-magnets Brent Macaffer and Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds both leaving the club.
Kelly said while the departures had hurt, it had also opened the door for a new crop of youngsters at the club.
“They’re irreplaceable footballers, and great people, but the big thing for us is that we knew this would be a transition year for the club,” he said.
“We had 13 players play on the weekend that played in last year’s final, and nine from the grand final team, so this is a completely different side.
“The most exciting thing for us is our kids, we had 14 come up from the under 18s and four or five of them played on the weekend.
“We’re pretty keen to give the guys from within some opportunity and see how they go.
“We can already see some progress; but we’ve got a long way to go.
“It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to coach this group this year.
“We’ve never had this many juniors coming through, so it’s really exciting for the club.
“We just want to keep improving each week and be a better team by the end of the year.”
As for Warragul Industrials, well the Dusties are now right behind the eight-ball as they take a well-earned rest after a very tough start to the season.
Losses to Phillip Island, Inverloch-Kongwak and the Seagulls were more-or-less guaranteed with an injury list so long.
They should regain some key cattle for another massive test, on their home-deck at Western Park, when they welcome the dangerous Nar Nar Goon for their next encounter.
Consecutive games against Garfield, Kooweerup, Bunyip and Dalyston should then settle some nerves as we head to the mid-way point of the season.
Cornwall finished with three for the vanquished, and Visser two, while youngster Regan Awty was impressive in just his third game of senior footy.
Travis Ogden was also effective across half back and through the middle, while highly-touted teenager Templeton continues to impress at the level.
