Montmorency ends Heidelberg’s winning run with ‘brutal’ win

Montmorency is the only club to beat Heidelberg in the past 24 matches, ending the Tigers’ winning run, as spearhead Pat Fitzgerald ran riot.

Montmorency's Jake Spencer gets tackled. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Montmorency marched into the Tigers’ den and walked away with a memorable five-point win on Saturday.

The Magpies crashed Heidelberg’s premiership flag raising as star forward Patrick Fitzgerald bagged seven goals to a dominant display.

The 14.9 (93) to 13.10 (88) victory at Warringal Park also snapped the Tigers’ 18-game win streak.

However, the competition will hope it isn’t a case of history repeating after Montmorency also defeated Heidelberg in Round 3 last season before the Tigers won 16 games straight to claim the NFNL Division 1 title.

The Magpies are the only team to take four points from the premier in its last 24 matches, dating back to July 3, 2021.

Liam Wale-Buxton in action for Montmorency. Picture: Hamish Blair

In a “brutal” contest, Montmorency fielded 10 players under-21 and was without skipper Sam Binion and Mitch Honeychurch, which had coach Jono Manzoney understandably impressed.

“We’re developing a brand of football that we want to play over four quarters,” Manzoney said.

“We’ve played it in patches and I thought (on Saturday) we stuck it out a bit longer, I was really proud of the brand we played.

“It was a great showcase of local footy, there was a great crowd there, and I loved the fact both the Heidelberg community and Montmorency community came out and we were able to put on a good show for them.”

Heidelberg held a one-point lead at quarter-time but a five-goal burst in the second proved decisive for Montmorency.

It set up a 12-point Magpies lead at half-time and the Tigers were unable to bridge the gap until the final siren, Mackenzie Hogg snapping his second goal with the last kick of the game.

Fitzpatrick’s big bag proved match-deciding, while star ruckman Liam Wale-Buxton was named Montmorency’s best-on-ground along with youngster Kyle Kankaanpaa.

“Pat did really well, our goalkicking hasn’t been all that accurate in pre-season and the first couple of matches,” Manzoney said.

Josh Mills tries to stop Lachlan Wilson. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“It was a beautiful day and the ground at Heidelberg came up a treat, I think it was just a really good day for footy.

“Liam was great, he was awesome.

“With him and Jake Spencer in the side, the combination – they’re different types of ruckmen – makes the opposition adjust, which is a real positive for us.

“And Kyle would be in our top five for the body of work he’s put in over the pre-season.

“He wants to be the best footballer he can be and he’s a lovely kid, a really coachable kid, and the benefits showed – he went head-to-head with Lachie Wilson and was very impressive.”

Bronson Hill booted three goals, while Jai Robinson and Marcus Lentini were prolific for the Pies.

For Heidelberg, Wilson was named best, while Isaac Wallace, Brodie Tardio and Tim Sullivan were strong contributors.

It was a critical response after a Round 2 loss to Greensborough and grand finalist Bundoora coming to Montmorency Park in Round 4.

Manzoney said his team was still a work in progress but took confidence from matching it with the competition’s benchmark.

“We’re still a long-term project, we played four quarters but you can see our result the week before,” he said.

“Greensborough caught us on our heels a little bit and I know it’s an old adage but I’m really just looking week-to-week.

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“We’ve got a lot of work to do, we played really well, but there’s some key areas we’ve got to keep developing.”

Heidelberg will look to bounce back when it travels to Greensborough.

Elsewhere in Division 1, Hurstbridge edged North Heidelberg by nine points and Macleod secured its first win of the season with a 22-point triumph over Banyule.

West Preston-Lakeside claimed a three-point thriller over Greensborough and Bundoora were comfortable 61-point winners against Whittlesea.