Greensborough and Matthew Kreuzer beat North Heidelberg and Majak Daw

Matthew Kreuzer and Majak Daw produced several highlights as Greensborough secured a dramatic come-from-behind victory over North Heidelberg.

Matthew Kreuzer greets Majak Daw. Picture: Hamish Blair

Greensborough and Matthew Kreuzer claimed a dramatic win over North Heidelberg and Majak Daw on Saturday.

With the pair of ex-AFL guns making their local footy debuts at War Memorial Park, the NFL Division 1 clash certainly lived up to the hype.

Kreuzer and Daw both produced moments of magic and Greensborough completed a remarkable comeback to earn an eight-point victory and cement itself in fifth place.

Kreuzer produced the goal of the day, turning back the clock to rove a pack, gathering off his toes and snapping truly in the second quarter, while his second goal came from set shot on a near-impossible angle in front of a packed clubrooms terrace.

Daw rucked for much of the day, winning hitouts at will to spark North’s blistering start, while also taking several contested marks around the ground and booting one goal.

Josh Caddy breaks away from Billy Hogan and Jesse Tardio. Picture: Hamish Blair

Majak Daw wins the hitout over Tom Brindley. Picture: Hamish Blair

Matthew Kreuzer hunts the ball on the ground. Picture: Hamish Blair

Trailing by 19 points at quarter-time, Borough coach Saade Ghazi gave his players a rocket after being physically dominated by the visitors.

The spray worked as the deficit was reduced to seven points at half-time and four points at the final change as the home team finished 11.11 (77) to 9.15 (69) victors.

“There were some home truths but I think the players knew that,” Ghazi said of his quarter-time talk.

“I didn’t think we were strong enough at the contest and I thought a few of our boys, when they should have gone lower and harder didn’t, and I just wanted to remind the boys of that.”

Borough star Tom Bell was the catalyst in the comeback, inspiring his team with a captivating performance – winning several key contests and kicking three goals.

Young defender Angus Seivers was also a major factor, clunking a series of contested marks and providing run-and-carry rebound, to continue his outstanding season.

Ghazi was rapt to see Kreuzer back on the field and making a big contribution.

“Kreuz hasn’t played for two years, people forget, so it was good for the group and good for the crowd,” he said.

“The gather off the shoelaces, you wouldn’t have expected that, and then he wobbled one through in front of the members – the adventure has paid off.

“He fits in well, he’s got a family connection here, I’m rapt for him that he’s played and got through with no injuries.”

Jesse Tardio is tackled by Jackson Hasler. Picture: Hamish Blair

Tom Brindley fires of a handpass for Greensborough. Picture: Hamish Blair

For North Heidelberg, it was another missed opportunity.

The Bulldogs lost gun midfielder Jesse Tardio to an ankle injury in the second quarter, which severely impacted their hopes of winning.

Coach Jason Heatley told his players at three-quarter-time that the game would be decided by individual moments and it was, but not in the way he was hoping as his team imploded in five minutes of madness.

Brilliant for so much of the game, Jhye Baddeley-Kelly gave away an unnecessary 50m penalty after being sucked in by Tristan Stead, which led to a Bell goal and a seven-point Borough lead.

Immediately after, Billy Hogan’s ill-disciple cost his side again as he was yellow carded following a skirmish – erasing all the good work he had done in a dominant first quarter.

Then minutes later, Borough small forward Ethan Luke intercepted a North kick-in and converted to make it a 13-point margin to seal victory.

The Dogs got a late goal back through Nick O’Neill but it was too late.

With Coburg on a VFL, Baddeley-Kelly showcased his quality to be the best in defeat, while Liam Nunan, Charles Le Fanu and Jared Crosbie impressed.

The result puts Greensborough six points clear of Macleod in sixth and all but ends North Heidelberg’s finals hopes, now two-and-a-half games behind with four rounds remaining.

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With games against Bundoora and Heidelberg to come, Ghazi was keen for his team to take a scalp heading into finals.

“We’re been disappointed with a couple of losses but that’s footy,” he said.

“We’d like to knock someone off, we beat Mont earlier in the year but that was a while ago, so we haven’t beaten anyone above us for a little while.”

North Heidelberg will look to bounce back when it hosts Hurstbridge at Shelley Reserve.