Whittlesea withstood a final-quarter surge from West Preston-Lakeside to claim a nailbiting four-point win in Round 4.
The Eagles were kept scoreless in the final term at J.E Moore Park but produced a resolute defensive effort to clinch a 12.3 (75) to 10.11 (71) victory.
Justin Sherman maintained his red-hot start to the Northern Football League season with six goals in the triumph, while defender Thomas Falls won praise for his job on Roosters star Ahmed Saad.
Whittlesea coach Jim Atkins said he was proud of his side’s response after being humbled by 86 points against Northcote Park in Round 3.
“A week is a long time in football. The weekend proved that,” Atkins said.
“We just didn’t bring our effort last week and this week our effort was huge.
“It was good to see the boys really return to the Whittlesea way of playing football.
“When we are showing a bit of pressure around the football and around the contest we seem to play a lot better.
“Everything else just seems to fall into place. We had our most tackles yesterday (for the season) by a long way.”
A six-goal third quarter proved the difference in the Division 1 contest as Sherman guided the visitors to a 20-point lead at the final break.
West Preston booted 2.4 in the last quarter but was unable to find a matchwinner as Whittlesea held firm in a thrilling finish.
“There’s a lot of belief at our football club in everything we are doing at the moment,” Atkins said.
“We are a football club that are all local blokes and I think that is a great asset for us.
“We all get along and we are all in it together. It showed yesterday … everyone played their role.”
The Eagles jumped to sixth on the table after Saturday’s triumph, one game behind fifth-placed West Preston-Lakeside.
Unbeaten Macleod awaits Whittlesea in Round 5 after the NFL’s interleague clash with the Western Region Football League.
Elsewhere, Northcote Park cruised to a 45-point win against Eltham, Macleod extended Greensborough’s winless start with a 14-point victory at DeWinton Park, Bundoora pipped Montmorency by 10 points and Hurstbridge shocked Heidelberg by 27.
“It is a very close comp,” Atkins said.
“It’s anyone’s to win it and anyone could be finishing down at the bottom at the moment.
“It’s going to be an intense year and I think it’s great for the competition.”
Photo by Nathan McNeil
