NFL 2019: Heidelberg hands Greensborough its first defeat of the Division 1 season

Heidelberg handed Greensborough its first defeat of the Northern league Division 1 season but Tigers coach Frank Raso is aware there is one question his side his yet to answer.

Heidelberg players sing the song. Picture: Chris Eastman/AAP

There were suggestions Greensborough wouldn’t be beaten this year.

The Borough had swept to an 11-0 record and its average winning margin had been 62 points.

But Heidelberg handed Greensborough its first defeat of the season in an absorbing Northern Football League Division 1 clash at Warringal Park on Saturday.

Greensborough midfielder Chris Clark had a snap from a stoppage to give his side the lead deep in time-on during the final term, but his shot hit the post as Heidelberg scored a 7.5 (47) to 6.9 (45) win.

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Little separated the sides during the game and Heidelberg coach Frank Raso said the result could have gone either way.

“I thought the difference in the game was probably our ability to win the 50-50 contests in some ways,” Raso said.

“We had plus-24 tackles, which definitely helps, our commitment at the ball was really good, contested numbers were pretty even.

“I thought the way we moved the ball, we took chances, we switched and changed angles, we changed lanes and really made the ground bigger in the wet conditions.”

Chaz Sargeant celebrates a goal. Picture: Chris Eastman/AAP

Raso said Greensborough remained the team to beat in the premiership race.

“They’re a very good side, no doubt, I think they bat really deep, I still think they’re the best team in the competition in terms of personnel,” he said.

“You’ve got (Charlie) Molyneux through the midfield, (Chris) Clark, (Tom) Bell, (Liam) Read is a pretty good ruckman, (Zak) McCubbin on the wing, then you throw (Ben) Fennell through the midfield and they’ve got a very good depth of midfield.”

The Tigers will welcome back Michael Brunelli, Sam Grimley, Will Goss, Aaron Crispe, Will Knight and Anthony Bonaddio in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got some more senior players to come back in, which we’re looking forward to, but at the same time the kids are getting the job done,” Raso said.

“We’re really young, as I’ve stated publicly before.

Greensborough’s Tynan Smith takes a strong mark. Picture: Chris Eastman/AAP

“We counted 15 players who were under 21, I think we played six under-19s kids … we’ve got a really young team.

“It’s just a matter of performing at the right time with that little bit of lack of experience. That’s always the question mark but we’ve spoken about that as a team.

“Greensborough, I don’t think they would have had more than a handful of players under 21 … they’ve got a really good age bracket.

“We’re definitely the young ones of the comp. You’ve always got to be hopeful, remind and train that they’ve got to perform in big games and big stages and we haven’t got to that stage yet but that will be the question mark I guess.”

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