Hosting the Bulldogs at Violet Town Recreation Reserve, the Towners shot out to 14-point lead at quarter time, from which they didn’t look back, extending the margin at every break to record an eventual 61-point victory.
Mitchell Saunders (two goals) was named the Towners’ best in the win, closely followed by off-season recruit Will Hayes, with the former AFL Blue and Bulldog slotting a goal in his second appearance for Violet Town this season.
Angus Wood (one goal), Michael Nolan and skipper Nathan Abley were also influential, while Patrick Horsburgh rounded out the best while topping the goal kickers list with six majors.
The win sees the Towners improve to 10th on the ladder with a 1-2 record through three games, and they will look to level the ledger when they take on Longwood this Saturday at Longwood Recreation Reserve.
Elsewhere in round four, having been in with a shot at three-quarter time last week against the reigning premiers but falling short of claiming a scalp, Avenel has bounced back with a big win on the road at the weekend to improve to a positive record once again.
Saturday saw the Swans travel to Tallygaroopna Recreation Reserve to take on the Redlegs, recording a huge 16.17 (113) to 4.5 (29) victory to move to 2-1 from their three games so far this season.
Coach Joshua Delaney said the victory was satisfying, especially after the late fade out last week.
“It’s nice to get a win, obviously bouncing back after kind of a disappointing effort against Murchison,” he said.
“We thought we were a good chance against Murch, so we just wanted to rebound back to playing good footy.
“Obviously we started pretty slow in the first half, but after a while we got our game going, and then to click in the gear was actually pretty rewarding for us.”
Despite the eventual 84-point margin, and the fact they kept the home side scoreless in the first term, it took a while for the Swans to create a definitive gap, with the scoreboard reading 4.7 (31) to the Redlegs’ 2.1 (13) at the main break.
But six-goal-to-one third term for the visitors blew the contest wide open, paving the way for the 14-goal victory.
Delaney said not much changed between the first and second halves, with the focus more on execution rather than anything too dramatic after half time.
“The messaging was just keep doing what we were doing, our execution was just off,” he said.
“We didn't change a whole lot, it was more about calming ourselves down and just finding a target and hitting a target.
“We got a bit rushed, a bit inconsistent, so the message was just keep calm, it's going to come, keep to the game style and it's going to work out, and it showed.
“In the first five minutes (of the second half) we kicked a couple of goals, and, yeah, the boys just stuck at the game plan and then the game fell into our favour by just sticking to what we know and not changing anything.”
Tim Dundon was named Avenel’s best in the win, joined by Ben Gillett, Jack Myers and Chayse Thomson, while the Avola brothers, Corey (three goals) and Braydon (two goals) hit the scoreboard in the win too.
Luke Furci also booted three, having joined the club in the off-season, as did the Avola’s who made their way back to the club, with their additions a massive boost according to Delaney.
“Oh, they’ve been huge,” he said.
“It's not just about the footy experience, it's more about their personality and what they bring to they club in general as well, both off field and on field.
“Obviously, football experience is helping us, especially with a lot of young guys we've got, but they have off field presence as well.
“They’ve really set up the club in a fantastic position... they’ve been massive additions for us.”
The Swans face another massive test in round five when they face a red hot Lancaster, who recorded a 22.22 (154) to 3.3 (21) demolition of Longwood at the weekend.
Around the grounds, Shepparton East was too classy for Rushworth in a 20.10 (130) to 6.12 (48) victory, while Murchison-Toolamba cruised past Undera with a 19.14 (128) to 6.2 (38) win.
In the final game of the round, Stanhope denied a wayward Girgarre a second win, claiming an 11.9 (75) to 5.16 (46) victory.
