A high scoring contest in near perfect football conditions saw the Tigers run away 22-point victors and extend a 30-year unbeaten run against the Panthers.
New Eltham coach Brett Weatherald was realistic in contextualising the 22-point loss: “We learnt a lot today against good quality opposition and under intense pressure there were a few structures and things that fell down. So we need to learn from it and move on,” he said. “I have got to give the boys credit, they stuck at it.”
Alternatively, relief was the overwhelming emotion for first game Tigers’ coach Ryan Smith: “There were a lot of things we did poorly and a lot of things we can improve on. You know it is Round 1 and we are happy with the win… Eltham are going to be a good side. They will have some good wins,” he said.
He also commended Dale Nolan on his nine-goal haul: “When we can isolate him (Nolan) and get him in a one on one contest he is going to take it 90 per cent of the time. Our challenge is to do that on a regular basis,” he said.
The scene was set in the first twenty seconds when young Panther Corey Smith tackled fiercely and was rewarded with a free kick, only to turn the ball over immediately resulting in the first of many missed opportunities for the Tigers in front of goal.
Five minutes in and Eltham had still not ventured past the halfway point while Heidelberg missed three relatively straightforward shots at goal.
Finally the Panthers broke the zone, Brendan O’Sullivan snapping the first major of the day with Eltham’s first inside 50. Without time to blink Matthew Keys boomeranged the Panthers’ second thanks to some unremitting defensive work in midfield.
Two inside 50s, two goals for the Panthers – it was to be the story of the day.
Eltham continued to work hard but struggled to win clearances and as a result the inside 50 count at the first break was 17 to five in the Tigers’ favour.
The Panthers had scratched and clawed their way back to a seven-point deficit but Heidelberg’s polish had shown glimpses of why the club was just 10-points away from a premiership last September.
The Tigers were forcing their resilient opposition to chase the game on their terms, running and spreading efficiently and utilising the switch as if it were a team rule to do so.
Josh Houlihan marshalled the defence both vocally and physically while new recruit Allan Young and Dale Nolan were providing headaches up forward.
The Tigers’ began the second term with four goals in as many minutes and a blowout looked to be on the cards.
In a show of defiance and character not evident in their 2011 campaign, the Panthers began to win the contested ball and deliver it with gusto inside their forward 50.
Paul Currie stemmed the flow with his first major of the day and shortly after the Tigers’ Jason Kennedy was given his marching orders for a behind the play incident. Just moments later teammate Danny Nolan was handed the same fate and unexpectedly the tempo began to swing.
Eltham had rattled a team seemingly in cruise control, but now they had to make it count on the scoreboard – something Heidelberg had struggled to do thus far.
Brad Perry exemplified the change of impetus with a strong mark and goal that reduced the margin to just 17 points halfway through the second term.
It was as if Eltham had switched on at the precise moment their opponents switched off. The game was changing and it was the left-footed Jackson Weatherald who booted his first before Mark Keenan juggled and goaled to create a five-point ball game.
Paul Currie created the biggest roar of the day when he put the Panthers in front and in an astonishing quarter of football Eltham had unexpectedly turned the game upside down.
They were playing as if it were wet weather footy yet there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Players burrowing and scavenging for a mere touch of the Sherrin as if they hadn’t felt its leather in years. What they lacked in class, the Panthers were making up for with intensity as they took a one-point lead into the main break.
However the Tigers began the third quarter in a similar vain to that of the second, dominating the clearance count and displaying skills befit of a perfect autumn Saturday in front of a healthy crowd.
It took until the eighth minute for the Panthers to substantially pass halfway but this was not before Dale Nolan marked and goaled twice in as many minutes to create a mini break and some much needed breathing space.
Yet Heidelberg continued to throw away opportunities and thoughtless free kicks, Jess Sinclair the primary villain as Braydn Taglieri goaled from point blank range after a 50-metre penalty.
While Eltham was staying in the game via the occasional major on the counter, it was Heidelberg who controlled the play for sustained periods of time.
Frustratingly for the away supporters they were unable to convert such dominance onto the scoreboard.
Nolan’s fifth was followed moments later on the three quarter time siren by Chris Cullinan’s first goal for the club, a beauty from outside 40m.
It was a bitter blow for the Panthers who had toiled hard to limit the damage for much of the quarter only to let slip couple of soft opportunities in the dying embers of the term.
Despite this, the mood was upbeat at the break and there was enough optimism to forecast an upset should they start well.
With a 17-point buffer to Heidelberg, the Panthers were now kicking with a two-goal breeze. Two early chances went begging and the Tigers made them pay, extending the lead to 40-points halfway through the final term.
Yes Eltham toiled manfully, yes they worked wilfully for each other, but what they didn’t possess was the unmistakable class of last years’ grand finalists – or a high marking full forward such as Dale Nolan.
Brett Weatherald was candid in his appraisal of the 157-game veteran: “To be honest we just didn’t have an answer for him. We really struggled there to get the match up right, probably five blokes rotated on him. He was very good for them,” he said.
Eltham travels to Montmorency next Saturday while Heidelberg hosts Lower Plenty.
Final score: Eltham 17.6 (108) def by Heidelberg 19.16 (130)
