21/09/2026
Drive for five complete for Tigers
By Michael Thompson
First it was the Roarsome Foursome. Then it was the drive for five. Soon, we’ll find out if they’re in the mix for six.
Forty-eight hours on, it still seems so surreal. Five premierships in a row for Heidelberg Football Netball Club, marking its 150th year off in the best way possible.
What’s undeniable, however, is that the Tigers sure did get their greatest test when it mattered most.
Greensborough threw absolutely everything at the Tigers – this was a team that well and truly belied their record of 9-9 at the end of the home-and-away season.
It was obvious there was a game on our hands early on, with Brody Glenn kicking the first goal of the day for the Boro.
While Jack Andrew responded in kind, the Boro had the better of proceedings early on, and Jamie Smith had another response for the Boro.
However, one suspected at the first change that they had left a few chances begging, particularly after missing three shots at goal to leave them just seven points ahead at the first change, 2.4 (16) to 1.3 (9).
As Heidelberg do, the champs responded big time in the second quarter.
It took just two minutes for the Tigers to get back on terms, with Daniel O’Dwyer kicking the first of the term, before Kai Kearns added another five minutes later to give them a lead they ultimately wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon.
Later on in the quarter, the Tigers banged home three goals in three minutes, and it looked their flag for the taking, with best-on-ground Josh Shepherd, Andrew and Zane Barzen scoring to leave it a 22-point game at the main break, 6.5 (41) to 2.7 (19).
But there was a twist, and that came in the form of three goals in three minutes – the other way around this time.
Smith and Glenn had their second, before Harrison Andronaco pounced on some sloppy ball movement in the defensive 50 for Heidelberg, and all of a sudden, it was a four-point game mere minutes into the third quarter.
The crazy start continued when Andrew nailed his third goal to leave the Heidelberg faithful a little less restless, but Andronaco’s second meant the margin was again one goal.
Greensborough did have its chances, but just didn’t quite have the discipline or patience. It had an opportunity for another goal, but a reversed free kick from tight on the boundary line wasn’t what the men in green was looking for.
The quarter played out the exact reverse of the first quarter. Heidelberg got a little break thanks to a Kai Dimattina goal, but the Tigers left some chances on the table, with four straight behinds leaving the margin at 15 points at the final change, 8.12 (60) to 6.9 (45).
Zak McCubbin kicked the first goal of the last term and it was game on.
For 12 minutes, things were certainly tense. Would the Tigers crown themselves as the greatest team of them all, football-wise, in league history? Or would we see the biggest upset in some time?
The answer lied with Heidelberg’s ability to keep calm.
A costly 50-metre penalty walked Andrew to the goalsquare for his fourth goal, setting off a chain which allowed the Tigers to kick four goals in seven minutes to seal the premiership.
Dimattina kicked his second, before Brayden Sier and Tom Keys got in on the act.
McCubbin kicked a second late, but it was merely consolation as the Heidelberg juggernaut took a 12.18 (90) to 8.10 (58) win.
Shepherd put in a big shift on the wing, while Frank Rosbrook Medallist Sam Gilmore was huge in the last quarter.
Andrew’s four goals and Dimattina’s brace also helped matters, as did the performances of Luke Bunker and Matthew Signorello.
For Greensborough, William McFawn put in a huge effort, as did Jack Johnston, Jackson Davies, Blake Watson, Andronaco and Glenn.
Heidelberg coach Vin Dattoli said there was no pressure coming into the day from his end.
“It was, believe it or not, no pressure coming in. The joy we want to give the supporters and partners involved in the footy club… to get that done, grand finals can go pear-shaped sometimes, if you miss a beat, and we didn’t really get the game on our terms until midway through the third quarter. We started that quarter poorly,” he said.
“At the end of the day, you measure your performance on how you use the ball. At different times, we didn’t really have our connection piece going forward, not through a lack of trying, but the reality is, we started to get it going and started to hit the scoreboard.”
And what about Dattoli’s take on where his club sits against the all-timers? Well…
“I think it’s left to all the critics, so to speak, but it has to be up there. It’s just an amazing group. Ten or 11 guys that have played five in a row, two first-timers, and the guys that have played in three… the actual group that have been there for the whole journey have been outstanding,” he said.
“The thing about us is we play a method, so if one player is unhealthy or unfit, we just roll someone else to play the method.
“We like to think our product – which is relationships – at the club is at a very high level, which continues to want people to hang around as they’re getting their education fix from a footy side, and they’re building phenomenal relationships which hopefully last forever.”
