Heidelberg West produces stunning upset to end Old Eltham Collegians’ undefeated start

Heidelberg West coach Dale Mayne just wanted to win one quarter. The Hawks ended up producing a giant upset, ending Old Eltham Collegians undefeated start.

Ryan Offer looks for an option for Heidelberg West. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Heidelberg West produced what could go down as one of the upsets of the Northern league season.

The Hawks held their nerve in a nail-biting finish to end Old Eltham Collegians’ undefeated start to the NFNL Division 3 season with a three-point victory.

The underdogs led at every change and held off a late Turtles charge to finish 8.10 (58) to 7.13 (55) victors at Eltham College.

It’s West’s third win of the season and breaths new life into their finals hopes, now just a game outside the top-five.

At just 16, young defender Max Brown was named best-on-ground in the win.

Max Brown in action for Heidelberg West. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Heidelberg West coach Dale Mayne said the club came into the game to just win one quarter and the confidence flowed from there.

“We had a plan to be solid defensively, a few games we’ve just been taking out of it on the scoreboard and it’s difficult to get confidence,” Mayne said.

“We hadn’t won a quarter against some of the better sides we’d played, even when we’ve had good quarters.

“So the plan was to win the first quarter and then we won the second and we thought we’re in this position we might as well push on and take the opportunity.

“I said to the boys ‘so far so good, stick to what we’re doing’, I didn’t care if we lost a close game but we’ve got a really good opportunity to take the points.

“We kept our composure really well, sometimes when you’re in front in close games you can be a sitting duck, so it was really courageous in the end.”

West started strongly and took a five-point lead into quarter-time.

Accuracy in front of goal proved a critical factor in the match and the Hawks extended the margin to nine points at half-time, despite having one fewer scoring shot.

The advantage was 11 points at three-quarter-time and the upset was on.

Old Eltham made a final push to rescue its undefeated status but will rue inaccuracy, kicking 2.5 in a frantic final quarter, while West booted 1.3.

Patrick Molony dishes off the handball for Heidelberg West. Picture: Valeriu Campan

“We were really strong at the contest, they’ve got some good onballers, so they’re always going to be dangerous,” Mayne said.

“They had a free kick from a stoppage towards the end but thankfully they missed.

“(The margin) was there for a while, they had a few opportunities to take the lead, it was a real arm wrestle the last 10 minutes but we were committed to defending well.”

Brown starred in defence with a number of intercept marks and timely spoils, while Michael Italia, Ryan Offer and Jordan Bulman and Jordan Vellios (three goals each) impressed.

Brown has played every game this season after spending 2023 with Beverley Hills under-16s.

Meanwhile, developing tall Patrick Molony kept reigning league goalkicker Matt Williamson to just one major.

“Max was really courageous in the air, they didn’t take a lot of marks inside 50m,” Mayne said.

“It was a really disciplined performance, he’s really versatile and can pick up talls or smalls, he’s around that 190cm but mobile.

“He’s had a couple of weeks forward as part of his development and done well but we released a few backmen to play through the middle and he went back and was really solid.

“Pat is normally our ruckman but went back to Williamson and when he had stints in the ruck he went with him.

“He’s had a really good season in his first year at the club, he’s a good leader and a team-first sort of guy … Williamson probably only had three shots at goal in the whole game.”

Quinn Doherty and Tom Norman made their senior debuts for West.

For Collegians, Jeremy Murphy was named best-on in defeat, while Tim Ellis, Nick Milne and Hugh Kavanagh stood tall.

The Hawks now face a fortnight off with a competition bye followed by the King’s Birthday weekend league bye before tackling new ladder-leader Fitzroy Stars.

West will have an ace up its sleeve for the match with two-time Coleman Medallist Brendan Fevola making a one-off guest appearance.

Mayne said the win was a show of what his players were capable of but wasn’t counting his chickens.

“We’re going to have our ups and downs and this is really good reward for effort,” he said.

“I’m not thinking it’s a turning point, it’s just a week-by-week thing.

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“Everyone was on the same page and it shows when everyone is more disciplined we can be more competitive.”

Old Eltham Collegians will look to rebound against top-four rival Old Paradians at Garvey Oval.

Elsewhere in Division 3, Old Paradians proved too good for fellow finals aspirant Epping with a 16-point win and Fitzroy Stars went to the top of the ladder with a 22-point win over Ivanhoe.

Kinglake claimed its first win of the season in style, a 111-point win over Reservoir and Mernda edged Kilmore by two points in a thriller.