Heidelberg’s record winning run, flag four-peat stamped it as one of local footy’s most dominant clubs
Not even a dodgy dinner could derail Heidelberg’s hunt for history as the Tigers went on a record-breaking winning streak to claim a premiership four-peat in 2008 and 2009.
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Heidelberg lost one game in three years during its premiership four-peat.
The Tigers’ 48 consecutive wins is a Northern Football League record but it could have been so much more if not for a dodgy Thursday night feed.
Entering 2008, the club was reigning back-to-back premiers and riding an already impressive 22-match winning streak.
That extended to 23 with a comfortable 46-point win over Lalor in Round 1 but the Round 2 clash against Montmorency brought the club back to earth on multiple fronts.
“We lost one game in three years and that was only because everyone had food poisoning,” then club president Trevor Barrot said.
“That’s the truth, we all got it at a Thursday night meal and whatever it was it got the whole club.
“We were supposed to have a club function after the game, we had 330 paid to go and we had 140 who actually turned up.
“Corey McKernan, one of our assistants, came home from Sydney and was in the cab from the airport and everything let go.
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“A couple of guys ended up in hospital on drips … it was a funny old time but it wasn’t funny at the time.”
It would be the last time Heidelberg lost a senior match until Round 11, 2010 against Greensborough, almost two and a half seasons later.
Former Richmond and Essendon defender Ty Zantuck would arrive in 2008, strengthening an already elite squad.
Mark Favrin, Jake Williams, Nick Lowther, Brett Dobson and Matthew Laing gave the club unmatched depth across the field.
The all-conquering Tigers won six games that season by more than 100 points, including 113-, 176- and 116-point wins in consecutive weeks over West Preston-Lakeside, Diamond Creek and Lalor respectively.
In one of the tightest seasons in history, the Tigers claimed the minor premiership over Montmorency on percentage and a major semi-final epic loomed.
However, it proved a fizzer as Heidelberg stormed to a 76-point triumph. The epic would follow a fortnight later in the grand final.
The Magpies jumped out to an early lead and set up a 26-point buffer at three-quarter-time, eyeing a remarkable upset.
However, a seven-goal-to-none final-term blitz saw Heidelberg emerge victorious and sealed the club’s second premiership hat-trick.
Premiership-winning captain Blair Harvey named 2008 his favourite win, coming from behind the beat an arch-rival and seal the three-peat.
“There’s a couple, I think 2006 personally was a good year for myself,” he said.
“I think 2008 would have to be the best because there’s a massive rivalry between Heidelberg and Montmorency. It’s huge.
“We were favourites to win the grand final, there’s no doubt about it, we’d beaten Montmorency convincingly in the semi.
“Monty were up by 32 points late in the third term and (Anthony) Franchina kicked a goal late to make it 26 at three-quarter-time, then we just exploded. We kicked 7.7 to nothing in the last quarter.”
Harvey was named best-on-ground in the grand final win and was one of eight Tigers recognised in the Team of the Year
The rumour mill is always churning at local football level at it usually revolves around player payments.
Like any successful team, Heidelberg was accused of buying premierships but Barrot revealed players took big cuts to stay together and the mountain of work he and the club committee did to raise funds.
“A lot of people will say we were the big-money club at the time but players were playing for a lot less than what was being reported,” he said.
“If all the rumours were right, it would have cost us half a million to put a side on the ground.
“All the guys knew they could get paid more but they wanted success and they took success over money.
“It was hard work. I was running a transport business, a warehouse business and a young family and also trying to run a footy club.
“We had some great sponsors through those years and we also had a coterie club called ‘The Godfathers’ with 70 or 80 members who contributed well over $100,000 a year to the footy club.”
Former Fremantle and North Melbourne midfielder Jess Sinclair was the big-name recruit for 2009 as the club chased history.
It had only been seven years since Northcote Park’s historic four-peat and it provided a big incentive for a determined playing group.
Heidelberg swept all before it, finishing undefeated minor premier for the second time in three seasons.
Montmorency copped a 57-point belting in the major semi-final and was knocked out by Bundoora in the preliminary final.
For the third time in four years, the Tigers and Bulls would meet in the decider.
Kicking with the wind, Bundoora jumped out to an 18-point lead at quarter-time but trailed by 19 at half-time.
Heidelberg held a slender six-point margin at the final change but with the breeze at their back piled on eight goals to zip to claim a 64-point win and join Northcote Park as four-peat premiers.
Star defender Haydock was named best-on-ground and seven Tigers were picked in the Team of the Year.
Harvey said the Tigers’ success was built on a core of local talent.
“We had some really good players come in during that period but we had a core group, I think 11 players played in all five premierships,” he said.
“From the outside people were always saying ‘oh, Heidelberg’s topped up with these players’ — Justin Murphy, Jess Sinclair, Ty Zantuck just to name a few.
“That core group were all park footballers, as much as we did top up with some talent, our core group was the reason why we were so successful.
“Those guys have all been to each others’ weddings, kids’ birthdays, in group messages and go away on holiday together. It’s a bond that will last a lifetime.”
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Despite a host of retirements and coach Phil Plunkett’s decision to move on – replaced by Gavin Crossica – Heidelberg would again top the table in 2010 but its bid for a history-making fifth straight premiership ended at the hands of West Preston-Lakeside.
Frustratingly, the premiership four-peat would be followed by a hat-trick of devastating grand final defeats.
From 2004, the club featured in nine straight grand finals, winning five and etching its name into local footy folklore.