MACLEOD gave North Heidelberg a ruthless welcome back into the top flight of the NFL with a 107-point thrashing at Shelley Street Reserve.
A Roos win was never in doubt, leading by 52 points at quarter time before going on for a 24.31 (175) to 10.8 (68) result.
Macleod could have won by more however, with only inaccurate kicking preventing the margin being far greater.
However Garry Ramsay and his coaching staff had nothing to complain about, with forwards Shane Doherty and Nick Lynch kicking bags of six and five goals respectively in the big result.
The Doggies can take some positive from the match, with goal kicking machine Shane Harvey producing a solid game with five majors and 16-year old Kyle Green kicking a goal and holding himself against older and bigger opponents in his debut match.
But North Heidelberg will have to improve and fast if it wants to remain in the top flight for another year. The home side was outrun and outworked by the Roos, who proved they are one of the contenders for the flag this year.
Macleod started with a flurry of goals with Lynch and Doherty bagging two apiece in the first term. However, inaccurate kicking put a dampener on the score with the Roos kicking a whopping 12 behinds for the term.
The second quarter was much of the same with the Roos kicking the first three goals of the term, with Doherty kicking two goals and young debutant Riley Salvador booting his second for the match.
North Heidelberg finally got on the board midway through the term through none other than goal kicking maestro Shane Harvey. But that did little to stop the rot, with the Roos booting three of the next four goals to run out the first half 85-point leaders.
With the game all but over, there was still another two quarters to be played out, and the Roos started the second half with a goal within the first minute through Lynch, kicking his fourth goal in the process.
But the margin failed to extend much more, with the Roos’ inaccuracy playing another major part, booting eight behinds for the rest of the term, whilst kicking only three goals. The Dogs were able to kick two for the quarter, with Harvey and Mahoney getting the job done.
Leading by 97 points at the start of the fourth term, Lynch extended margin beyond three digits, kicking his fifth goal within a minute of the restart of the quarter.
Harvey replied for the Dogs but goals to Hayden Seivers and John Andrew soon followed for the 2014 preliminary finalists.
The Dogs were able to end the game with a flurry of goals, kicking five of the next six majors, including the final three goals of the match.
New Roo Lucas Hobbs, who joined from NFL rival Whittlesea in the off-season, was dominant in the midfield in his first game for the club, while Shane Doherty up forward with six goals and Joel Kidd were also in Macleod’s best.
The Dogs were gallant in defeat and were led by Harvey with five, Mahoney and Jake Brown.
Macleod takes on the reigning premier Greensborough at home in Round 2, in what will be a re-match of the 2014 preliminary final. Meanwhile, North Heidelberg travels to Preston City Oval to take on West Preston-Lakeside.
Final score: North Heidelberg 10.8 (68) def by Macleod 24.31 (175)
