North Heidelberg remains on top of the A Plus Solutions Division 2 ladder, following a 93-point win over Thomastown.
The Bulldogs began the game on fire, kicking eight goals in the opening term before going on to win 22.7 (139) to 6.10 (46) at Main Street Reserve
Brent and Shane Harvey were instrumental in the Round 10 victory, kicking 11 goals and setting up teammates for numerous others.
In his third game back from a leg injury, Shane Harvey kicked seven goals to increase his tally to 36 goals for the season – pushing within three goals of competition leader Darcy Barden.
Marc Lonergan also impressed for the Bulldogs, while Luke Villanti took his opportunity in the ruck, with first-choice ruckman Michael Florence out of the side.
The game began in a free-flowing style that was easy on the eye.
Both teams played with quick ball movement that resulted in three goals being kicked in the opening five minutes.
Joseph Vaccaro was given the task of running with Brent Harvey in the opening term and the Bears midfielder did well to leave his man and find room to kick the home side’s first goal of the game.
But for the remainder of the quarter the Bears had trouble exiting their defence, as the Bulldogs piled on the pressure.
Liam McLeod, Brent Harvey, Kyle Green and Shane Harvey all kicked goals from difficult positions and the Bulldogs’ ability to kick goals from tight angles saw them lead by 37 points at quarter time.
A goal to Declan Paras’ on the quarter time siren kept the Bears in the game and kicking with the breeze in the second term, Thomastown started the quarter in better form but failed to capitalise on the scoreboard.
The inability to convert opportunities came back to bite the Bears, as the Bulldogs kicked four goals in the term. The best of the goals came from Lonergan, who slid out of a tackle and kicked truly from 45m.
The third term was a North Heidelberg highlights reel as the ladder-leader kicked seven goals in the quarter.
Thomastown continued to try to nullify the Bulldogs and never gave up on the cause. But the visitors showed why are the competition leaders, with a dominant display to blow the game wide open.
Shane Harvey kicked a hat-trick of goals in the quarter and made the difficult look easy as he single-handedly outscored the Bears.
Leading by 91 points at the final break, North Heidelberg was on course for a triple-digit win. But Thomastown wasn’t done fighting and kicked the same amount of goals as the Bulldogs in the term.
Matthew Vasilevski was again outstanding for the Bears, while Vaccaro battled hard all day against the Bulldogs star-studded midfield.
Thomastown’s defence also won praise for sticking to the task when they could easily have given up.
But not for the first time this season, the Bulldogs played electrifying football that has seen them become the team to catch in the division.
North Heidelberg returns to Shelley Reserve in Round 11 to take on Watsonia, while Thomastown will travel to Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval to face the Fitzroy Stars.
Final score: Thomastown 6.10 (46) def by North Heidelberg 22.7 (139)
