North Heidelberg sent a message to the Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 competition after a comprehensive 52-point victory over Montmorency at Montmorency Park North Oval.
The Bulldogs produced a scintillating first quarter, kicking the opening five majors of the game, before answering any other challenges that came their way with a eight of the final 10 goals of the match to prevail 18.7 (115) to 8.15 (63).
With their 10th win of the 2024 campaign, North Heidelberg are now outright second on the ladder with three games to play, putting them in a fruitful position ahead of clashes with Banyule and Hurstbridge to round out the home and away season.
Montmorency drop to third, one game behind North Heidelberg, and have the same record as sides sitting in fourth, fifth and sixth positions. However, with a superior percentage and favourable games to come, the Magpies can still secure a top three finish.
Parker Heatley starred for the clinical Bulldogs with a six-goal performance. Four of them came in the first half, with his terrific, contested marking and brilliant forward craft helping the 19-year-old produce one of his best games of the year.
In his first match since Round 8, Jesse Tardio had no problems settling into the side, creating a formidable duo with Liam Hunt in the middle to create dangerous forays forward for the visitors.
In the backline, Nicholas Matthews was excellent, putting a clamp on Montmorency’s Patrick Fitzgerald to keep him to only one major.
Brody Bell was also impressive, but the stand-in captain saved his best work at the other end of the ground, where two goals in two minutes late in the third term proved to be a match-winning effort for his side. He ended the game with a career-high of three goals.
Another defender to stand tall was Lachlan Smith. He finished as his side’s best after taking a great number of intercept marks in defensive 50, while being efficient with his ball use when exiting the back half.
Marcus Lentini was the Magpies’ most consistent performer of the afternoon, and didn’t stop giving his all, even when the game was out of reach.
Logan Butcher, Ryan Gardner and Billy Jenkin were others to stand out, but Montmorency’s inability to take their chances in front of goal, as well as their issues with absorbing North Heidelberg’s relentless pressure, proved to be the home side’s downfall.
The Bulldogs set the tone from the outset, with Heatley marking and converting a set shot just two minutes into the contest.
Jason Heatley’s side were building well into the game and were intense with their pressure at the coalface, something they would maintain throughout the match.
The Magpies meanwhile struggled to get good looks on goal and would end the first term with five behinds and no goals.
The visitors booted five majors in the same period, with the highlight of the term coming courtesy of Jesse Tardio, who streamed out of the middle of a centre restart, before combining with a teammate for a 1-2 handball chain which led to Tardio nailing the running shot on goal.
Lentini found the big sticks to get the much-needed opening major of the second term five minutes in, before North Heidelberg dominated the next 10 minutes with three more goals, ballooning the margin out to a then game-high 41 points.
But after Lacey Batchelor and Heatley exchanged majors early into time on, Nick Rutley’s men produced their best stint of the match.
In a five-minute period, they nailed three quick goals, the latter being a Ben Paterson set shot conversion on the half time siren from a tight angle.
The margin sat at 23 points at the main break with the Magpies right in the hunt, but North Heidelberg had other ideas.
Following an even first half to the third term, the Bulldogs went on the attack at the 16-minute mark and produced three breathtaking goals.
Brody Bell drifted forward and showcased his excellent contested marking to produce back-to-back majors, before Liam Hunt kicked a remarkable goal from tight on the boundary, turning a 22-point advantage into a 40-point lead in just minutes.
The Magpies tried to respond in another attempt to cut the margin but could only muster three behinds to set their chase at 37 points at the final break.
It took the away side just two minutes into the last quarter to extinguish Montmorency’s comeback hopes, as Dillon and Heatley added to their tallies to all but seal the victory.
The final result of 52 points saw North Heidelberg record their third score of 110 points or more in their previous four matches.
