Tara Murray
Heidelberg came out on top against Bundoora in a good old hard fought wet weather game in the Northern Football League’s division 1 grand final.
After putting on a spectacle earlier in the final series in a game that went to overtime, the grand final would be a completely different game.
Just 11 goals were kicked for the game, with heavy rain making the game hard to be anything but a contested game of footy.
When the Tigers kicked the first goal of the last quarter to lead by two goals, that was the ball game.
The Tigers were able to hold on to claim the premiership, 6.11 (47)-5.2 (32).
Bulls coach Michael Ryan said he couldn’t have asked for anything more from his group in those sorts of conditions.
“If you had told me last week that the grand final would have been won with six goals I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.
“Obviously it wasn’t the result we set out to achieve. I couldn’t be any more prouder of the boys and how they played in those conditions.
“They gave it their all as you can’t ask for anything more as a coach.”
Ryan said when the rain started to fall just before the game started he thought they could be in for an interesting game of football.
He was exactly right with rain falling throughout the whole match.
“It was pretty hard,” he said. “The game was highly contested. We had to play wet weather footy and there was no clear ball use.
“They adjusted better and were able to take their key chances.”
Despite the Tigers playing better footy early on, there was nothing in the match for the most part.
The Bulls had their chances to stick with the Tigers heading into the final quarter.
“We hit the front midway through the third term and there was a bit of belief,” he said.
“They scored and we then had a shot on goal on the three quarter time siren to tie everything up but we weren’t able to convert.
“They kicked the first game of the last quarter to make it a two goal game. In those conditions it was like it was a four to five goal lead.”
The Tigers’ Matthew Smith was awarded the best on ground medal.
Hamish Shepheard continued his good run of form to be named the Bulls best.
Ryan said the ruck contest between Shepheard and Sam Gilmore was one of the highlights of the game.
“The ruck duel was fantastic,” he said. “They went to war. There were so many stoppages and he gave it his all.”
Jesse King and John Jorgensen kicked two goals each in tough conditions for forwards. They were also named in the best along with Brent Marshall, Joel Fitzgerald and Jackson Davies.
While the seniors failed in their premiership dream, it wasn’t all bad news for the Bulls.
The reserves came away with their third straight premiership beating Heidelberg.
After a goalless first quarter, the Bulls hit the scoreboard while keeping the Tigers scoreless for the first two quarters.
The margin was reduced in the third quarter, but the Bulls stormed home with five goals to none in the final quarter to seal a 10.13 (71)-3.3 (21) win.
Nathan Howard was awarded the best on ground medal.
Ryan said Shane Jacobs continues to do a fantastic job pin getting that side up and about each year.
He said he was proud of how far the group had come since the end of 2019 when he took over as a coach.
“To be able to bounce back from where we were at the end of 2019 and both make grand finals this year, it’s a good place to be.
“We had 42 players play senior football, it’s a good place to be. I believe with the age demographic we have, we can hopefully have long term success.”
Ryan said after the group celebrated the season, they would look to give everyone a decent break to relax after a big couple of years.
