NEWTOWN & Chilwell has won its fifth match in a row with a remarkable 32-point turnaround in the final quarter to defeat fellow finals contender St Mary's.
After scores were level at half-time the Saints broke out to a handy four-goal lead, however it could have been worse if not for the efforts of Eagles midfielder Rob Condy.
After a quiet first half the VFL-listed midfielder converted his sides' only two goals for the quarter and played just as important a role rebounding off the opposition's forward line.
Trailing the Saints by 20 points at the final break, Newtown & Chilwell coach Jacob Spolding admitted that he used his club's "past players' day" environment to motivate his players when the times were tough.
"Obviously it was a big day for the football club. We've failed to win the games during the last few past players' days so we really built ourselves to match a top quality side like St Mary's who we knew would be coming hard after their loss last week and they certainly did that," he said.
"We were then able to play some really good footy in that last quarter which is what went on to make it a big win for our football club".
Ryan Gamble played a pivotal role around the stoppages in the last quarter, setting up a quick goal to Aaron Baxter before Matthew Grant marked his own ball and then set up David Nye for another.
Only 10 minutes remained in the quarter when Jay Bett kicked his fourth goal to put the Eagles in front before Lewis Hyland intercepted Marc O'Donohue's risky chip across goal to take out his side's seventh win in eight games.
After holding ambitions of becoming a regular finals side during the pre-season, Spolding admitted that he's a bit more optimistic with his side's 7-3 record.
"After our game against Bell Park we obviously reassessed our earlier form and even now we're still trying to win as many games as we can out of the 18 so we can play finals for the second year in a row and we're now getting closer," he said.
While Condy's consistent efforts were recognised with the man of the match award, it was his teammates up forward who won the recognition of his coach.
"Jay Bett was able to take some really good contested marks and kicked a few goals as did Lewis Hyland in the last quarter so those two stood out up forward" Spolding said.
"Our back six also did a good job as they continued to apply pressure and at the end of the game kept them (St Mary's) to one behind, so they deserve some recognition."
Spolding believes his side can now only improve due to its ongoing inclusions.
"Daniel Orr and Tim McKinnon came back into the side and played really well, as did Ryan Normington who's back in from his injury in the Lara game where we thought he'd be out for the season. Normington really stepped up and played exceptionally well." he said.
Last Modified on 08/01/2013 07:14