Mernda caused the boilover of the season with victory over Thomastown in division 2 of the Northern Football League on Saturday.
The season so far could not have been more different for the Demons and Bears.
The Bears, in their first season back in division 2, sat atop the ladder before Saturday’s game with only one loss in nine matches.
The Demons, on the other hand, were bottom of the ladder without a point.
But that didn’t matter on Saturday when the Demons proved too strong in the final quarter, winning 11.7 (73) – 7.16 (58).
Demons president Vinny Hanlon said it was a relief to get the monkey off the back.
“It has been an absolutely terrible run with injuries this year,” Hanlon said.
“Many of those have been season-ending injuries, which has meant we have had to play the kids. It has been hard but they’re starting to gel.”
He said the Demons deserved the win.
“We ran out the game a lot better,” he said. “We train on a bigger ground and playing on smaller grounds has hurt us.
“Thomastown has a big ground and we made the most of it.”
The Demons were led by Les Adams and Matthew Duggan.
“You need your leaders to step up in situations like this,” Hanlon said.
“The younger guys like Matthew Golledge and Riley Black really stood up as well and provided much-needed run.
“When you have a young side, you need everyone to contribute and that’s what happened.”
Hanlon also praised the efforts of coach Brett Wilson. “He puts a lot of time into the opposition and I thought he got the match- ups right,” he said.
The win closed the gap between Mernda and second-last Panton Hill to just one win, with the teams to meet this weekend.
“You can notice, morale is already different,” Hanlon said.
“Our destiny is in our own hands and if we can get a win this week and a few more we can avoid relegation.”
In other division 2 matches, Lalor won a two-point thriller against Panton Hill, 16.7 (103) – 15.11 (101).
Fourth-placed Whittlesea put some distance between itself and fifth-placed Fitzroy Stars with a 37-point win.
