North Heidelberg have secured a top three spot on the 2024 Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 ladder and have prevented Banyule from a maiden top flight finals berth in the process following a 64-point triumph at Beverley Road Oval.
The third quarter was the catalyst for the Bulldogs’ 15.19 (109) to 5.15 (45) victory, kicking 47 points in the term while keeping their opponents scoreless in the same period, which helped them establish a match winning 42-point three quarter time advantage.
For North Heidelberg, the result secures a double chance finish for the first time since 2019 and will help set up a mouthwatering qualifying final with Montmorency next Saturday.
Parker Heatley will be one of the most in-form players heading into the finals series after he starred again with a six-goal haul. He ends the home and away campaign on 59 goals to win the competition’s leading goalkicking award.
Brock Chircop and Brodie White were also among the best for the men in the red, white and blue, with Lachlan Smith’s brilliant stretch of form also continuing.
Their third loss in their previous four matches spelled an end to the Bears’ finals hopes, falling to sixth position on percentage after Greensborough’s win over Macleod.
Vivian Blackmoore-Moore finished as his side’s sole multiple goalkicker, while the ever-reliable Kye Yodgee had another solid performance. Joel Perugini and Liam Chambers showed promising signs in the defeat.
Banyule started the game with all the momentum and owned the opening period, but their failure to put their dominance on the scoreboard would ultimately prove costly in the long run.
The first term saw them register six behinds and no goals, with a further four shots at goal failing to impact the scoreboard at all.
Sam McLarty was primed to spend the afternoon inside forward 50 and his aerial presence saw him clunk several contested marks, but his struggles in front of goal was a contributing factor to the hosts not obtaining the lead they deserved.
It took 22-minutes and nine behinds, before it was Heatley who, against the flow, kicked the first major of the day to enable his side to head into quarter time with the scoreboard in their favour.
Heatley would soon kick the first major of the second term, this time only taking two minutes after the restart to hit the big sticks.
However, a reply was given quickly by Ricky Dyson and Paul Harris’ men, with Sam McLarty’s high snap at goal from a tight angle doing just enough to curl home for a major.
That goal seemed to help the Bears find their rhythm, as they went on to slot three of the next four goals.
Josh Page showed great poise deep inside 50, critically keeping his feet in a one-on-one contest which allowed him to kick through the easiest of goals, before Arben Dani closed out the opening half strongly for the home side, quickly swinging onto his left foot and splitting the middle after marking deep in the pocket.
The Bears would take a five-point advantage into the second half, but North Heidelberg would come out looking a completely different side to the first two terms, when some free-flowing ball movement, and lethal transition from defence to attack saw the visitors kick seven unanswered majors in the quarter.
Heatley drilled home his fourth major of the day to start the chain, with his shot from outside 50 getting a kind bounce, before goals from Ben Giobbi and Brock Chircop, made it three goals in as many minutes.
North Heidelberg would continue to inflict more scoreboard damage, with Giobbi splitting the middle with his set shot from the boundary before more majors courtesy of Heatley and Liam Hunt.
Despite the 42-point advantage they held at three-quarter-time, the Bulldogs still looked to attack, and would be successful in doing so, as they booted a further five majors in the last quarter, including the critical first goal of the term which put the result beyond doubt.
Having nailed 12 of the 13 majors kicked in the second half, North Heidelberg would produce their equal largest margin of victory for the season, helping them head into finals with a world of confidence.
