Whittlesea defied a 68-point half-time deficit to win by a single point in the dying stages against North Heidelberg at Shelley Street Reserve.
The Eagles were down and out at half-time, missing opportunities and giving away a lot of free kicks to trail 3.6.(24) to North Heidelberg’s whopping 15.2.(92).
But a half-time rev up from coach Pete Bugden saw them fight back and come out on top in an emphatic victory which sees them stay atop the Division 2 ladder.
North Heidelberg led from the 10-minute mark of the first quarter right up to the final three seconds in what was a heartbreaking loss.
The Bulldogs came out firing, kicking the first goal of the game through Shane Harvey, who went on to kick six goals. But the Eagles hit straight back, kicking two straight through Todd Behan and Riley Dyson, with both goals coming from runs out of the backline.
North Heidelberg then piled on four straight majors but conceded a late one to go into the second term leading by 11 points.
The Bulldogs got plenty of the ball and were applying lots of pressure onto the Whittlesea midfield and defence.
The sun came out in the second term and so did the Dogs. They belted the Eagles all over the ground and put their advantage on the scoreboard. Goals were contributed from eight different players as they kept the Eagles goalless in a commanding quarter.
Going into the third quarter, every spectator at the ground would have written off Whittlesea. Not one of them would believe what they were about to witness.
The third quarter got off to a shaky start with the timekeeper’s locking themselves out of the scoreboard, resulting in a late start with the siren unable to be rung.
This proved no worry for the Eagles as they kicked the all-important first goal through Andrew Fairchild. But as they had done all day, the Dogs replied after a great passage of play down the wing saw Blake Holmes finish off. Little did they know that would be the only goal they saw until the final term.
The Eagles were not fazed by that goal and instead went on to kick six unanswered goals to go into the final term with all the momentum and only trailing by 29 points.
At three quarter time, Whittlesea coach Pete Bugden urged his players to play as a team, believing a huge upset was on the cards. He wanted a full quarter effort and they provided it with stunning football.
Whittlesea continued its momentum from the third term to kick the next five goals of the final term to level the scores.
It seemed the Eagles would roll on top of the Dogs, however the home side replied with a centre clearance from John Green. He barged his way through the pack and feed off to Shane Harvey who kicked truly to take back the lead.
North Heidelberg was now trying to control the game and bring it back on its own terms. But as it seemed as it was slowly gaining back control, the Eagles hit back through Paul Harrison after a 50m penalty.
But the Dogs were still not done with. A brilliant fast break finished with Shane Harvey’s sixth goal to extend the margin back out to six points. It looked like the match winner with only less than a minute to go on the clock.
Most Dogs supporters could see the end of the finish line, but no one told Whittlesea the game was over.
A centre clearance and quick ball movement down the boundary line saw Lucas Hobbs kick his second of the day and tie up the game with only 30 seconds remaining.
Roy Dyson then got the centre clearance for the Eagles and bombed it in hope into his forward 50m. With no one able to mark it, Luke Deards pounced on the opportunity and he snapped it in from 30m out for one of the greatest behinds ever witnessed.
Two seconds later, the siren sounded and the strong Whittlesea faithful and players were on their feet, knew they had just witnessed the impossible, again.
Post-match, Pete Bugden spoke of his half-time spray and what Whittlesea did to win the match.
“We talked about blokes playing their roles in the team and after half-time, that’s what they did,” Bugden said.
“I might’ve used a couple of four letter words (at half time). We played a lot of individual footy, and then after half-time, we played team footy. So, when you play team footy, the result, is up there on the scoreboard.
“We played pretty offensive football all match and that’s what we needed to keep doing that after Shane Harvey kicked his sixth goal. We pushed a couple blokes up forward and we’re lucky we came away with the points.
“I think what you’ve seen in the last half, was team football, so it wasn’t an individual thing at all, it really across the board, it was just our blokes being competitive and winning 50-50 contests.”
The Eagles now face off against second-placed Diamond Creek away in a top of the table clash whilst the Dogs play Hurstbridge as they look to end a three-game losing streak.
Final score: North Heidelberg 18.6 (114) def by Whittlesea 17.13 (115)
