Heidelberg have continued their solid start to the Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 season after defeating Macleod by 25-points at De Winton Park.
Facing a Kangaroos side coming off an impressive win 40-point victory against North Heidelberg, the Tigers kicked seven goals to two in the first term and never looked back to be the only side in the competition to start the 2022 season 2-0.
Among the best for the Tigers was second gamer Mackenzie Hogg who kicked three goals, as well as Zane Barzen, Sean Martin and reigning Division 1 Coaches MVP Matt Smith.
Jose Miliado, Patrick Martin and Lucas Hobbs were the shining lights for the home side, with the latter two kicking four goals each.
Speaking to NFNL.org.au post-game, Heidelberg senior men’s coach Danny Nolan was happy with the win against a strong Macleod side, particularly after facing their own challenges off-field.
“We’re happy with that, especially on their ground, I think they’re a five goal better side,” Nolan said.
“We had a few issues during the week with the whole COVID situation at the moment, so we’ll definitely take that, we were pretty happy.”
What was made even more impressive for the Tigers was the fact they had one on the bench for most of the second half, Nolan was pleased they managed to pull through despite the limited rotations available to him.
“We had a few guys go down in the first half… we were really happy with the resilience of the side considering the situation,” he said.
Nolan also praised 20-year-old Hogg, as well as fellow second gamer Donato Cutinelli, who also kicked three majors, on their efforts inside attacking 50.
“Both are really quality kids… and very lively, especially on that ground, [which is] a tight ground for small forwards, they did really well,” he said.
Despite the defeat, the signs for the future still look positive for Macleod according to Nolan, who gave credit to his opposite number in Craig Hayes and his entire side, in particular, trio Ned McKeown, Lucas Hobbs and Justin White.
“They just keep getting the ball, you try your best to shut them down, but you can’t keep quality guys down the whole game,” he said.
“Talking to (Craig) after the game, they’re in a good position, there’s a good vibe around Macleod so they’re going to be hard for every side that faces them.”
The Kangaroos will take on Greensborough in a big Good Friday clash while Heidelberg will host Montmorency in a fortnight’s time, Nolan adding the game will give a good idea of where the Tigers are at early in the 2022 campaign.
“It’s a test and it’ll really good to see where we are exactly for the season ahead, so we’re looking forward to it, it’ll be a really good challenge,” he said.
