Heidelberg boots 12 goals to one in the second half to dismantle Bundoora
Heidelberg sent a clear warning to its premiership rivals on Saturday with a powerful win over Bundoora in the NFNL Division 1 grand final rematch.
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Heidelberg has sent a clear warning to its NFNL Division 1 premiership rivals with a second half dismantling of Bundoora on Saturday.
The Tigers led by seven points at half-time in the grand finals rematch before piling on 12 goals to one to record a stunning 78-point victory at Warringal Reserve.
Brayden Sier, Zane Barzen and Jordan Smith all kicked three goals as 10 Tigers hit the scoreboard in the 17.13 (115) to 5.7 (37) romp.
The home team booted four goals in the third term before an eight goal finish with the Bulls limited by injury.
Tigers coach Vinny Dattoli revealed several key changes at half-time helped his team find a new gear.
“Our first half was really good and Bundoora’s first half was equally good, so to have our noses in front at half-time we were pretty happy,” he said.
“We swung Jesse Gedi, (Brody) Tardio and Lachie Wilson forward, we felt we needed more ground-level support and our ground-ball wins in the second half had a significant impact on the scoreboard.
“(Our flexibility) is enormous, Jesse Gedi goes from a back pocket into a forward pocket and impacts equally, Tardio goes from a wing to forward and Lachie is obviously one of our starting mids
“Those three smalls in particular had a significant impact in the second half.
“We put a lot of work into our team defence … it was extremely pleasing to keep Bundoora to five goals.
“Tommy Sullivan started forward but we swung him back onto McEvoy and that released Jed Rule to play forward and on a wing.
“To have a 6’4 guy running around on the wing, with how mobile Jed Rule is, it gives us a different perspective moving forward.”
Skipper Sam Gilmore was named Heidelberg’s best in the win, along with fellow leader Matt Smith, Tardio and Smith.
With Hamish Shepheard sidelined for much of the last quarter, Gilmore took control of the game, while in his first game back from injury Sier was also influential in the middle.
“Sammy and Shep, as a spectacle, two warriors go about it is always good to watch,” Dattoli said.
“Sammy pretty much had all the say in the last quarter … Bundoora went with a young fella who’s still learning his craft and we were able to get the stoppages on our terms.
“Brayden was a key influencer in changing the game in the second quarter.
“We were trying to management him through the game coming off a hammy but we pushed him into the middle and got the game back on our terms in the second half of the second quarter.”
For Bundoora, Kain Proctor was named best-on, while Jedd Longmire, Lachie East and Joel Lamotte also played key roles.
While Shepheard missed much of the last term, the Bulls are also sweating on an injury to prime-mover Ben McNiece.
The result moves Heidelberg six points clear on top of the ladder heading into the Division 1 bye.
Bundoora falls to fourth, behind North Heidelberg on percentage, but secure in the top-five eight points ahead of Greensborough in sixth with four games remaining.
Scarily for premiership rivals, Dattoli said the Tigers were still finding their best 22, with a number of players still on VFL duty.
“Internally, we’re really happy with where the team is sitting … if we can keep ticking the boxes, we’re in a really good position to finish on top with a few more boys to come back,” he said.
“We’ve still got Nathan Honey and Dan O’Dwyer to return, Matty Signorello will return, so there’s some significant ins.
“As a coaching group we’re going to have some big decisions to make as to what our best 22 looks like.
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“We have no idea what our best 22 looks like, we might know what our best 16 looks like, but the best thing about how we’re shaped we have so much flexibility.”
After the week off, Heidelberg travels to fifth-placed Hurstbridge, while Bundoora will look to bounce back against Greensborough.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Banyule put a big dent in the Borough’s finals hopes with a thrilling three-point win and Montmorency bounced back with a 21-point win over Hurstbridge.
North Heidelberg was too strong for West Preston-Lakeside in a 59-point triumph and Macleod eased past Whittlesea by 49 points.
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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