West Preston-Lakeside have claimed its third victory of 2025 after defeating North Heidelberg by four points in their Northern Football Netball League Division 1 clash at Shelley Street Reserve.
The West Preston-Lakeside Roosters led for most of the contest, holding off a late charge from the North Heidelberg Bulldogs to secure the 8.7 (55) to 7.9 (51) victory.
NORTH HEIDELBERG: 2.1 2.6 4.9 7.9 (51)
GOALS: Lachlan Smith 2, Brock Chircop, Jesse Tardio, Brody Bell, Ben Giobbi, Jarryd Culph.
BEST: Mitch Dillon, Jarryd Culph, Ben Giobbi, Luke Holian, Thomas Rivis, Hamish Murphy.
WEST PRESTON-LAKESIDE: 4.0 5.3 5.4 8.7 (55)
GOALS: Dante Colosimo 3, Bailey Smith 2, Tom McMahon, Matthew Harman, Marcus Prosperi-Porta.
BEST: Matthew Harman, Marcus Prosperi-Porta, Charlie Aitken, Adam Valeri, Lennox Williams, Dante Colosimo.
It is a second consecutive win for the Roosters now against North Heidelberg at Shelley Street, having won by five points in their last meeting with the Bulldogs just under 12 months ago.
They now snap a two-game losing streak and are equal on wins with fourth-placed Montmorency, Greensborough and Eltham.
North Heidelberg, on the other hand, drops down to eighth, but remains only half a game behind the Magpies, Borough, Panthers and Roosters.
West Preston-Lakeside senior men’s coach Ian Aitken said it was pleasing to be able to secure the four points against a 2024 finalist.
“We had a similar victory last year; they were a bit more undermanned when we met them there in 2024,” Aitken said.
“It was pleasing we got the victory. Our third quarter was poor; they lifted, and things certainly tightened up. They got the first goal of the last, and then we came back and turned things around.”
Among its key contributors were Dante Colosimo and Matthew Harman. Colosimo kicked three goals, all of which came in the first term, while Harman dominated in the ruck and kicked a crucial goal in the last.
“Putting scoreboard pressure on in the first quarter from Dante was extremely valuable.
“Matthew’s a talisman for the club. He played on a very good opposition ruckman and just lifted and put the side on his shoulder in the last quarter.
Others who also played a big role in the victory included Captain Max Dreher, Adam Valeri and Joshua Iacobaccio.
“Our backline was very solid with Charlie Aitken and Riley Clarke doing a very good job,” Aitken said.
For the Bulldogs, Jarryd Culph continued his great form alongside Mitch Dillon and Ben Giobbi. Lachlan Smith led the way in attack with two goals.
Initially, the contest was goal-for-goal, with North Heidelberg kicking a goal to take the lead before the Roosters immediately responded.
A pair of goals in time on from Colosimo then gave West Preston-Lakeside an 11-point advantage heading into the first break.
The Roosters’ defence was under the pump in the early stages of the second quarter. However, they stood tall and only conceded the three behinds.
Ian Aitken’s side then turned the momentum around and kicked the only goal of the term (along with three behinds) to extend their advantage to 15 points at the main break.
After the Bulldogs had regained the momentum late in the second, they were able to build on that for the entire third term.
Kasey Duncan’s side managed to kick the only two goals of that term to reduce the margin down to one point heading into the last.
North Heidelberg then took the lead four minutes into the last term. That was quickly erased by Matthew Harman’s only goal of the match four minutes later.
“(To respond) showed a lot of belief and fortitude by the players, being able to kick straight also helps,” Aitken said.
Two more goals from Tom McMahon and Marcus Prosperi-Porta made it a 15-point ball game in favour of the Roosters as time loomed in the last.
Ben Giobbi and Brody Bell then scored two goals in time on for the Bulldogs to give them hope. However, the Roosters weathered the storm and were able to hold on for another famous victory at Shelley Street.
