Hurstbridge jumps off bottom of NFL Division 1 ladder with massive upset

Joel Naylor booted seven goals and Hurstbridge continued its recent dominance of Bundoora with a stunning upset at Yulong Reserve.

Joel Naylor kicked seven goals for Hurstbridge. Picture: Hamish Blair

Hurstbridge produced one of the upsets of the Northern Football League season on Saturday, stunning premiership contender Bundoora.

The 15-point win is the Bridges’ third in row at Yulong Reserve and fourth in the past five matches overall and, critically, lifts them off the bottom of the NFL Division 1 ladder.

Hurstbridge co-coaches Jarrod Tilley and Brayden Shaw came back to haunt their former club, handing the Bulls consecutive losses for the first time this season.

An impressive seven-goal haul from Joel Naylor inspired the 13.7 (85) to 10.10 (70) victory.

Leading by four points at three-quarter-time, the Bridges fell behind as the Bulls eyed an escape but the visitors finished strongly with four goals to see an invaluable four points.

Jacob Smith keeps his eye on the ball for Hurstbridge. Picture: Hamish Blair

“We’ve got a good record against Bundoora, it’s weird you just match up well against some sides,” Tilley said.

“They got us earlier in the year but that was in one quarter, they kicked eight goals in one quarter, and that was the difference.

“We went there (on Saturday) knowing we had to put it together for four quarters and that was the difference.

“(I told the boys) no matter what happens, if we got down one or two to keep our heads up and we can come from behind, and Bundoora did get the first goal but we got it back and finished the job.”

It was a successful coaching weekend for Tilley who guided his Yarrambat under-10s to a breakthrough win over Montmorency the following day.

Naylor was the catalyst with a dominant performance in attack for Hurstbridge.

After a breakout 36-goal campaign saw him named in the Team of the Year last season, Naylor now has 30 majors in 12 appearances and at least one goals in every match.

Sunny Brazier was strong in midfield, while James Mellerick, Jacob Smith and Tyson Old also shone.

Hurstbridge’s Ty Franks juggles the mark. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“(Naylor) probably got his colours lowered last week but he bounced back and it helped we got Bailey Jordan and Copper Perrin back,” Tilley said.

“He missed a couple early but once he got his eye in he hit the scoreboard big time and ended up with 7.4, he certainly made the most of his chances in the second half.

“Sunny’s been playing regularly with us, he was probably the most consistent game throughout the day.

“He was really strong around the ball for us, he did really well in the clearances and put us on the front foot.”

John Jorgensen was Bundoora’s leading forward with three goals, while Luke Collins was the Bulls best in defeat along with Ben Young and Kyle Green.

The result sees Hurstbridge jump to eighth on the ladder, leap-frogging Whittlesea and Northcote Park on percentage, with five games remaining.

The Bridges face a difficult challenge when ladder-leader Heidelberg visits Ben Frilay Oval on Saturday before relegation-deciding clashes against the Cougars (Round 16) and Eagles (Round 18) in the run home.

Tilley said the only solution was wins.

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“There’s no shying away from it, we put ourselves in this position and it’s not the direction the club wants to go in,” he said.

“We needed to find a way to get ourselves off the bottom but we’re still in that bracket, so we’ve got to try to keep pinching games on the way home.

“Hopefully this can kick start our last five games and tick a few more off on the way home.”

Bundoora will look to bounce back when it travels to DeWinton Park to face Macleod.