Liam Barber lived the dream as North Heidelberg snatched victory over Banyule

North Heidelberg came from the clouds to snatch a heart-stopping win over top-five rival Banyule as young gun Liam Barber kicked a goal on the siren.

North Heidelberg celebrates victory on the final siren.

Liam Barber lived every player’s dream on Saturday, kicking the match-winning goal seconds before the siren.

In just his third game of senior football, the North Heidelberg under-19s captain showed plenty of composure after taking a strong contested mark to cooly finish from 30m out.

It gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead over NFNL Division 1 top-five rival Banyule as the siren sounded, sparking wild celebrations at Shelley Reserve.

It capped a frantic finish as North came from 17 points down with six minutes remaining to claim a famous 16.14 (110) to 17.7 (109) victory.

Brodie White kicked the goal to spark the comeback and delivered the assist for Barber in a significant late burst.

Kyle McDonald in action for North Heidelberg. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Brodie Bell was dominant in defence, keeping Jack Langford goalless, while Parker Heatley booted four goals and Liam Hunt, skipper Kyle McDonald and Tom Wallis were prolific in midfield.

Bulldogs assistant Kasey Duncan said it was so loud he could hardly hear the siren sound.

“I was pretty confident in the young fella, he showed maturity beyond his years, he was really calm and as soon as it left the boot his arms were in the air.

“It was really important with some key players missing after a tough week on the track, so it was a big day for the club.

“The Kennel was pumping and you couldn’t actually hear the siren when it went.

“We’re hellbent on protecting the Kennel and we haven’t done that well early in the year but the last two games – to do it against Hurstbridge and Banyule – have been great performances.”

North Heidelberg jumped out of the blocks with a five-goal first term, taking an 18-point lead into quarter-time.

However, Banyule took control of the game through the middle stages, piling on 11 majors in the second and third quarters, to go into three-quarter-time 12 points up.

Liam Hunt in action for North Heidelberg. Picture: Josh Chadwick

Brodie White in action for North Heidelberg. Picture: Josh Chadwick

In a pulsating, end-to-end finish the Bears booted four goals but couldn’t stop the Bulldogs’ late surge.

North welcomed back Wallis and Dane Whitnall for the match but was missing Jesse Tardio, Liam Nunan, Ben Giobbi, Hamish Murphy and Lachie Smith.

After kicking the last goal of the third, Duncan said the message at three-quarter-time was to keep the pressure on.

“We thought we had momentum in the back end of the third quarter, the message was we’re still there,” he said.

“We put Kyle McDonald around the footy, he’d been playing back, the skipper, and his second half was massive.

“We wanted to keep the ball moving forward and getting it deep and giving the forwards a chance and Parker Heatley and Adam Giobbi were really strong in the contest.

“The guys around the footy, Tom Wallis, Liam Hunt and Kyle and Brodie White had a massive last 10 minutes.

“Brodie Bell was awesome on Langford and kept him goalless after keeping (Joel) Naylor goalless in the last game, so he’s been awesome for us.

“It was one of those days were everyone had a lick of it, young Zane Souleiman was good, he went to (Kyle) Yodgee in the last and did a good job.”

For Banyule, Reuben Blackmore-Moore was best afield, while Aydin Dani, Sam McLarty (four goals) and Kye Yodgee stood tall.

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The Bulldogs, Bears, Montmorency and Hurstbridge are now all locked on six wins, joint second.

North Heidelberg faces the biggest test of the season when it travels to the newly refurbished Warringal Park to take on undefeated ladder-leader Heidelberg.

The Tigers handed second-placed Hurstbridge a 100-point hammering on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Montmorency survived a massive scare from West Preston-Lakeside in a five-point win, Eltham was too good for Bundoora with a 25-point win and Greensborough topped Macleod by 81 points.