Heidelberg overcame a determined Banyule outfit to claim a 30-point victory at Beverley Road Oval, maintaining their winning start to the 2024 Melbourne Greyhounds Division 1 season.
The Tigers were challenged by the Bears in the first half and trailed by two points at the main break before kicking 11 goals to six in the second half to prevail 17.11 (113) to 12.11 (83).
The reigning premiers are now one of two sides yet to taste defeat in 2024 and sit in second position on the ladder behind Greensborough.
Zane Barzen kicked five goals for the visitors and was hard to contain inside forward 50. He has now produced eight majors in his three matches so far in 2024.
Dylan Clarke and Sean Martin were impressive for the visitors, with Clarke particularly contributing all over the ground.
With no Vivian Blackmore-Moore at their disposal, Banyule’s scoring efforts were led by Jack Langford and Daniel Owen who booted four majors each, while Jack Sammartino also had an influential game.
The match began slowly with both sides’ defences starring early and holding each other scoreless for almost ten minutes before the Bears registered the first score of the game.
It didn’t take long before Heidelberg were on the board as well, albeit more accurately, when Mitchell Jorgensen ran into goal following a successful counterattack by the Tigers.
The hosts responded with back-to-back goals courtesy of Daniel Owen and Aydin Dani to hit the front briefly, but Heidelberg took back control for the remainder of the first term, kicking three straight majors to lead by 11 points at quarter time.
Paul Harris’ men produced their best period of the match in the second quarter, going on a 22-1 run to lead by 10 points halfway through the quarter.
But the reigning premiers did what they do best and wrestled back momentum to stay in the hunt, kicking two of the next three majors thanks to Ryder Mantello and Zane Barzen, to only trail by two points at the main break.
It was momentum they continued to bring into the second half, when they produced the first four scoring shots on the third term, two of those resulting in goals from Jorgensen and Tom Keys.
Keys and Langford would trade goals for either side in a tense period of the term which saw both teams desperate to break the game open.
It would be Heidelberg who finally created some separation with the last two goals of the quarter, courtesy of Matthew Schnerring and Brayden Sier, that helped the Tigers lead by 19 points at three quarter time.
The gap by Vin Dattoli’s men proved to be a pivotal one, as the visitors continued to find avenues to goal in the last term.
They fired the first three majors of the quarter, with Clarke, Barzen and Dante Iacovone all getting involved to send their side further ahead.
Banyule tried to respond through their main men inside 50 in Owen and Langford, but Heidelberg produced another three-goal run to bring the margin out to a game-high 42 points, all but sealing their 39th win in the previous 42 games.
Late majors from the home side did little to impact the result, as Heidelberg continued their winning ways with a 30-poiny victory.
