North Heidelberg further pushed its claim as a genuine premiership contender by comfortably accounting for Diamond Creek at Shelley Street Reserve.
With stars Shane Harvey (nine goals) and Pasquale Saccuzzo starring, the Dogs never looked in doubt from the outset in the 19.8 (122) to 12.12 (84) result.
Trailing by 62 points at half time, the Creekers did show late fight to reduce the final margin – avoiding capitulation and showing some of the form which sees them in fourth position on the ladder.
The Dogs were on fire from the first bounce with star forward Harvey kicking the first goal of the match via a volley in the first minute. He went on to kick another two goals in a row to put his side 18 points ahead just five minutes in.
The Dogs momentum didn’t stop there as goals to Michael Celestin and Harvey saw the margin extend to 31 points before Diamond Creek put its first major on the board via Matt Walter.
North Heidelberg didn’t dwell on it and went on to kick the next three goals to go into the second term 42-points ahead. Harvey ended the term with six goals and could have made it seven but missed a chance just before the siren sounded.
Diamond Creek started the better in the second term. It did all the early attacking but could only manage three behinds. This cost the visitors dearly as the Dogs went on to kick the next four majors to extend their already commanding lead to 61 points.
Jai Norman finally got Creekers second of the day late in the second term, but it was instantly cancelled out after Simon Buchanan gave away two 50m penalties to gift Will Connell the final goal of the half.
While the Creekers had no problem getting their hands on the ball, their forward 50m entries were deplorable and their kicking for goal was hard to watch.
Whatever was mentioned by coach David Calthorpe at half time had immediate effect as Diamond Creek kicked the opening three goals of the third quarter, before Stephen Saddington replied for the Dogs.
But the Creekers momentum didn’t stop there as they went on to kick four of the next five goals to close within 31 points at the last change. This provided some nervous looks around the North Heidelberg crowd, as some recalled the second-half collapse against Whittlesea in Round 9.
However, those concerns were soon allayed as the home side kicked three of the opening four goals of the final term – including another two to Harvey – to push the margin out to 50 points.
The Creekers did manage two late consolation goals but ultimately their hopes of a top-two finish took a massive hit.
Harvey was at his brilliant best and heads into this weekend’s bye with 92 goals to his name. Despite his goal-kicking efforts, Saccuzzo may have edged him out for best afield honours after dominating in the midfield and racking up high possession and clearance numbers.
The Creekers’ only shining lights were Buchanan and Josh Whitehouse-Summers in their third successive loss to a top-four team.
Final score: North Heidelberg 19.8 (122) def Diamond Creek 12.12 (84)
