Heidelberg have made it five consecutive victories over Bundoora in the Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 competition, after claiming a 19-point win at Yulong Reserve on Saturday.
The Tigers were challenged throughout a 2022 Grand Final rematch defined by chaos balls, stoppages and plenty of intercept marking, but the reigning premiers took the Bulls by their horns in the final quarter, with a five goal to one final term helping them establish a 9.8 (62) to 6.7 (43) victory.
Brody Tardio became a reoccurring presence in the midfield with his tough play at the footy along with Lachlan Wilson, who continued his prolific season with another possession heavy game.
Additionally for the Tigers, Brayden Sier controlled the charge up the ground with his accurate kicking, while Sean Martin helped stop the charge of forward entries from the opposition.
Dylan Clarke impressed in his first game of the season for Heidelberg, with some great plays, he would kick the first and last goal of the match.
Hamish Shepheard had his way in ruck for the Bulls for large chunks of the game, allowing Luke Collins and Kain Proctor to shine with their clearance work.
Isaac McMillian and Peter McEvoy stood tall in the backline and forward line respectfully on their way to being named among the Bulls best.
Clarke was the one to set the first lead of the game for the Tigers, with an around the body snap going through the big sticks within the opening 30 seconds.
The defensive zone of the Tigers was set up quickly but was broken down by the Bulls through movement up the boundaries that would define the term.
However it seemed as though all Bundoora would be able to muster were behinds until Jesse King found the goals to give his side a one-point quarter time lead.
The second quarter began with more of an attack from the Tigers, starting off with a goal from Sam Gilmore to give his side back the lead.
But Michael Ryan’s men responded just minutes later through a James Sekulovski goal before Peter McEvoy followed up with a major to help the hosts regain the advantage.
However, the Tigers were still in the fight thanks to young gun Jed Rule, who kicked a converted his set shot to take the lead back, while late inclusion Matt Schnerring closed the quarter in similar fashion to extend the margin to seven-points at the main break.
Defence on both sides stood as the clear winner in a low-scoring third term, but it was King that got the scoreboard back ticking for his second major of the game at the seven-minute mark, reducing the deficit to two points.
Jack Maruff was next to capitalise on the Bulls forward entries, with his ninth goal of the season giving Bundoora the lead for the third time in the match.
The home side would take a five-point advantage into three quarter time, setting up a fascinating final quarter battle.
But as they had done many times in the past 12 months, the reigning premiers went up a level in the last term.
Liam Bunker swung the momentum back with a goal inside the opening three minutes of the quarter as the goals soon started to flow for the visitors.
Jed Rule kicked true between the big sticks for his second major of the game before a Kai Kearns major gave Vin Dattoli’s side the largest lead of the game.
Lachlan Wilson capped off his stellar performance with the most electric goal of the day from the boundary, while Clarke’s second major put the nail in the coffin for a 19-point victory.
