North Heidelberg begins post-Harvey era with an offensive explosion

North Heidelberg began its post-Harvey era with an attacking masterclass as Majak Daw and Brock Chircop both filled their boots.

Majak Daw kicks a goal for North Heidelberg. Picture: Hamish Blair

North Heidelberg began its post-Harvey era with an offensive explosion on Saturday.

After farewelling local footy great and NFNL all-time leading goalkicker Shane Harvey, the Bulldogs showed they are still full of firepower in a 107-point thrashing of West Preston-Lakeside at Moore Park.

Former North Melbourne and Melbourne big man Majak Daw and small forward Brock Chircop each booted seven goals.

Nine Bulldogs hit the scoreboard in the 25.11 (161) to 8.6 (54) romp, North Heidelberg’s biggest win since hammering Thomastown by 122 points in Division 2 in 2017.

It snaps West Preston-Lakeside’s run of four consecutive wins over North, handing the Roosters their biggest loss since a 104-point defeat to Bundoora last season.

Majak Daw in action for North Heidelberg. Picture: Hamish Blair

North Heidelberg coach Jason Heatley, no stranger to big bags of goals himself, said a key factor helped his team run up the score.

“With a bit of speed on the footy we were able to get Majak into positions that were beneficial,” he said.

“Brock missed Shane’s last game, he was sick – it was a big decision for him to pull out – so to get him back in, I loved his tackling work and kept the ball alive on the ground, that’s where he got his rewards.

“Mitch (Dillon) has played the last couple of years down back but was a forward initially but he’s got himself in better shape and has been able to compete a lot more and is an astute reader of the footy.

“The pleasing aspect, while the scoreboard is always nice, was we were running on top of the ground.

“There’s been a couple of instances where we’ve had flat spots in games so for us to be able to finish like that shows the work we’ve been doing has been beneficial.”

North jumped out to a 32-point lead at half-time before clicking up a gear, kicking six goals in the third term, before finishing with an astonishing 9.6 in the fourth.

Daw now sits second on the league-goalkicking charts with 17 majors, behind only Montmorency spearhead Patrick Fitzgerald on 21.

Used predominantly as a forward this season, Dillon has hit the scoreboard in every game and kicked three goals in the win.

Meanwhile, young half-back Josh Hamilton continued his outstanding start to the season with another strong showing.

The former Northern Knights-listed youngster has been in the Bulldogs’ best in three of five games.

“Josh is a really good kid, he’s still got so much to learn with his craft,” Heatley said.

“He’s got so much speed and we really encourage him to take the game on and we can see in his development in the first five games, and a couple of practice matches, he’s starting to get the confidence of, not only himself, but the group.

“We think some speed on the footy will hold us in good stead and he’s going to be a real player of the future.

“He’s still eligible for under-19s footy, which sits us in a good spot.”

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Heatley was also pleased with Brodie White’s work with two goals in his best game since crossing from EDFL club Craigieburn.

“I was really pleased with Brodie’s game … he’s got so many athletic attributes and to see him start grasping the connections around the footy, he’s going to be a hugely talented player for us.”

For West Preston Lakeside, VFL-listed talent Mo Yassine was the Roosters’ best, along with Adam Valeri, Michael Ercolano and Matt Belbasis.

In his second game back from a knee reconstruction, Ahmed Saad booted three goals before being hurt in a marking contest.