Jets produce remarkable fightback to finish over the top of Bombers

It was only round two of a long season but the Jets showed fighting spirit and great character to down Marrar by seven points, 16.4 (100) to 13.15 (93) at Ardlethan Sportsground on Saturday.

When new Marrar forward Kieran Emery kicked his fourth goal at the 15 minute mark of the third quarter, it appeared a matter of how far as the Bombers skipped 32 points clear.

But a week after opening the season with a 67-point loss to The Rock-Yerong Creek, the young Jets came of age and staged one of the most unlikely comebacks.

In a crucial seven-minute period before three-quarter-time, the Jets piled on four successive goals to surge back into the contest and move within eight points.

After a tense beginning to the final term, the Jets simply outran the Bombers and continued their comeback, kicking four goals to one to grab a famous victory.

The Jets' finished with eight of the last nine goals of the game and again got over Marrar in another thrilling contest between the two clubs.

Jets coach Jack Harper described it as one of the best wins he's been involved in at the Jets.

"Yeah we just talked about that post game, it was one of the grittiest wins we've had in a very long time," Harper said.

"In response to our performance last week, I'm really pleased with the fight that we had and the hunt for the footy. We talked about it all week and we were able to deliver on that. And to close out the last half, I thought we dominated the game and had a little bit more desperation, that's what it felt like, and come over the top which was nice."

Returning junior Charlie McCormack was the hero, kicking six goals and producing arguably his finest game of football at senior level.

Max Harper was very dangerous and finished with four goals, including the the sealer just before the final siren.

Harry Roscarel proved a valuable inclusion and he enjoyed a couple of big moments, nailing two final term goals.

Sam Clemson and Harry Collins also provided valuable run and played significant parts in the Jets' comeback.

After losing their three best players from last year's grand final team and then copping a hiding round one, Harper believes the come-from-behind win can do wonders for his playing group.

"All the talk pre-season was the guys that we've lost and how we're going to fill those holes as major players and we've changed our game plan," he said.

"We've gone a lot smaller across the field and the reality is a lot of the younger blokes have got more responsibility and put into positions that they haven't had before and that's what we've been working on all pre-season. Developing our young blokes to become senior footballers and really consistent senior footballers and I think today showed that those guys are really maturing and becoming really good football players and hopefully that sets up our season and holds us to a pretty good standard."

The Jets, featuring 21 one-point players, were also incredibly accurate in front of goal and that also played a big part in the result, given Marrar had eight more scoring shots.

Marrar, who had looked dangerous for much of the first half, were incredibly disappointing for most of the second half.

Their backline was exposed badly and there were very few senior players that stood tall when the going got tough.

Bombers captain Nick Molkentin was an exception and did all he could to get them over the line. Emery kicked 5.2 on debut and showed good signs, while Zach Walger and Jake Brown played big parts in getting Marrar out to a commanding lead.

The Jets lost Adam Flagg, who started in defence, to a hamstring injury in the opening term. Marrar were also the walking wounded late with Matt Rynehart (nose), Billy Toy (hip) and Connor Willis (back) all finishing the game injured on the bench.

Full-time

Northern Jets 3.0 7.2 12.3 16.4 (100)

Marrar Bombers 5.2 8.8 12.11 13.15 (93)

GOALS: Northern Jets: C.Mccormack 6, M.Harper 4, J.Harper 2, H.Roscarel 2, B.McKinnon 1, S.Clemson 1; Marrar Bombers: K.Emery 5, C.Gardner 2, B.Walker 2, Z.Walgers 1, C.Walker 1, B.Toy 1, C.Bourke 1

BEST: Northern Jets: M.Harper, J.Harper, C.Mccormack, H.Roscarel, N.Fairman, M.Doyle; Marrar Bombers: N.Molkentin, Z.Walgers, J.Brown, K.Emery, B.Walker, B.Toy.