Eltham holds on for heart-stopping win over Bundoora following kick-after-the-siren

After a difficult week in which it mourned the passing of a young player, Eltham held on for a relieving win following a kick after the siren.

Jesse Donaldson in action for Eltham. Picture: Field of View Photography

Dennis Cometti famously said in the 2016 AFL grand final, “a stadium holds its breath”.

On Saturday afternoon, all at Yulong Reserve held their breath as Joel Harris line-up a potentially match-winning kick after the siren.

Sadly for the Bulls’ debutant his kick fell agonisingly short and, instead, it was Eltham’s players, coaches and fans that exhaled in delight as they celebrated a heart-stopping one-point victory.

Just minutes earlier, another debutant, new Panther Jye Murphy, had put his team in front with a behind and it proved decisive in the 6.10 (46) to 7.3 (45) win.

After a week in which the NFNL Division 1 club mourned the tragic passing of one of its own, it was a much-needed relief.

Eltham coach Tim Bongetti said the you could have heard a pin drop as the final kick was in the air.

“They got the mark, the siren goes and the whole place just went silent,” he said.

“Every single player was on the goalline, it was really hard to see the goal umpire, what the signal was, and it was very heart-in-mouth.

“It got right to the line and all I could see was the field umpire and he didn’t signal, then he blew time off, so I was very relieved.

“It’s been a tough week at our football club, the result under the circumstances, the group were so tough to get over the line.”

Eltham will rue some missed opportunities that might have avoided the nail-biting climax, having had six more scoring shots.

The Panthers kicked 1.4 in the tense final quarter.

After being held scoreless in the opening quarter, the visitors responded in the second term, kicking 3.5 to take a five-point lead to half-time.

The two teams were rarely separated by more than a kick all day and when Eltham pushed the margin to 12 points mid-way through the final quarter it looked game over.

However, Jack Briskey and Liam Kolar kicked two goals in as many minutes to quickly level the scores.

Eltham had its final shot and Murphy missed but it proved a match-winning score.

Bongetti admitted his team wasn’t prepared for the heat that Bundoora brought but praised his players for being able to turn the game around.

“We didn’t know the brand of footy they were going to bring with the turnover of their list, the way Heath likes to play is that quick sling-shot off half-back,” he said.

“We were lucky we were set up well behind the footy and their forward entries weren’t efficient, so we were able to get some rebound and stem the scoring.

“The two practice matches, the pressure wasn’t has high as it was (on Saturday) but we trusted the process and eventually got it back on our terms, we got the ball forward and were able to hit the scoreboard.”

Other Panther debutants Mitch Green and Kai Turner were superb in defence, helping keep their club in the game early.

While David Evans impressed in the ruck, Jesse Donaldson was busy in midfield and Kai Porter finished with two goals.

“Mitch, he played on me when we were in Div 2, I’d been trying to get him for a couple of years,” Bongetti said.

“He’s really good one-on-one and able to get across third-man up and help out, he was really good playing his role.

“Kai Turner down back was really good too, coming from Mernda in Div 3 and making the jump up, he looked at ease out there and set us up with his ball use and intercept marking.”

Eltham’s win was soured with boom recruit Alex Jacobs injuring his ankle in the first quarter and sitting out the rest of the match.

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For Bundoora, Zane Barker, Ben McCarthy, Harry Butterworth and Jesse King (two goals) were among the best.

The Panthers will now host Hurstbridge next week, while Bundoora will look to bounce back against North Heidelberg.

In the season-opening weekend’s other results, Heidelberg unfurled its premiership flag before handing North Heidelberg a 130-point thumping as Jack Andrew and Jordan Smith both kicked five goals.

Banyule gave new coach Damien Truslove the perfect start to life at Beverley Road with a 31-point win over Montmorency, West Preston-Lakeside welcomed South Morang to Division 1 with a 41-point triumph and Greensborough snuck past Hurstbridge by three points.