Bundoora crushes North Heidelberg to earn another crack at Heidelberg in grand final
It’s on again, Heidelberg and Bundoora in the NFNL Division 1 grand final. The Bulls booking their place with a preliminary final demolition.
Northern
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Bundoora has set up a NFNL Division 1 grand final rematch against Heidelberg with one of the most dominant preliminary final performances in recent history.
The Bulls extinguished a red-hot North Heidelberg, charging away with a 87-point win at Preston City Oval.
The Bulldogs, fresh of impressive back-to-back 57-point finals wins, were kept goalless in the first half, while Bundoora poured on 13 unanswered goals to take an 80-point half-time lead.
Hamish Shepheard and Luke Collins ran riot in midfield, winning clearances at will, to propel the Bulls to a 20.13 (133) to 6.10 (46) triumph.
After a 58-point loss to the Tigers in the semi-final, coach Michael Ryan said he could see the intent in his players during the week.
“We knew we had to bounce back after a sub-par performance against Heidelberg,” he said.
“I thought it started during the week in terms of how we prepared and we had a captain’s run Saturday and I went home thinking you could really see the attitude and focus.
“We started strongly and were able to get scoreboard pressure early.
“(Keeping them goalless) that’s a real credit to our defence, North Heidelberg has been the highest scoring team of the year and we focused strongly on their firepower up forward.
“The game was played in good spirits and credit to Jason Heatley and North Heidelberg for what they’ve been able to do this year.
“They’ve won two finals coming back into Division 1 finals was a big effort and their reserves as well, just went down, it’s all looking up for them as a club.”
Both teams struggled to convert in the swirling Preston wind in the first quarter, Bundoora kicking 3.5 to 0.4 to take a 19-point lead.
The Bulls then took complete control in the second term, piling on 10 goals to just a single behind.
John Jorgensen kicked three majors in the quarter, as he and Shaun McKernan both finished with four on the day.
Cooper Bugeja finally broke the drought for North Heidelberg seconds into the third quarter and Majak Daw slotted his first but more inaccuracy cruelled any hope of a comeback.
Both teams booted four goals in the last quarter and Bundoora eased into grand final preparations.
Shepheard had the better of Michael Florance in the ruck duel to give his team first use, while Jackson Bowne produced an eye-catching performance with his run-and-carry off half-back.
“The game was won at the clearances, Hamish Shepheard and Luke Collins were sensational,” Ryan said.
“The ability to surge the ball forward and step into contact. We absorbed a lot of their pressure and the guys handled it really well.
“Our leaders were brilliant – Hamish Shepheard, Luke Collins, Jackson Davies and then Jackson Bowne as well – right from the start of the week through (to Sunday).
“Jackson had a strong game, he’s always been known for his A side and rebound off half-back.
“But I thought his B side, his ability to defend and he did it in both phases, that’s what I was really proud of and his tackling pressure was sensational as well.”
Bundoora had 10 individual goalkickers, while at the other end Lachie East kept Daw to just two goals.
For North Heidelberg, Liam Hunt, Josh Hamilton, Jesse Tardio and Jake Brown were best in defeat.
The Bulls will now look ahead to Heidelberg, a rematch of last year’s decider.
Bundoora will need to reverse 19, 78 and 58-point losses to the Tigers this season.
Ryan is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s really exciting to get another chance to play Heidelberg,” he said.
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“It’s a bit of deja vu after last year, I think in 06-07 the clubs played back-to-back grand finals against one another, so we’re looking forward to Saturday.
“We’ll have a full deck of cards, so it will be a tough selection.”
Meanwhile, Heidelberg will face Montmorency in the reserve grade decider after the Magpies stopped North Heidelberg by 12 points.
Eltham has a chance to complete a premiership treble after its under-19s won through to the grand final with a 30-point win over West Preston-Lakeside.
Montmorency captain to be given until final minute
Montmorency is through to its first NFNL Division 1 grand final since 2013 and will give skipper Stef Uzelac until the final second to prove his fitness.
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