Heidelberg West claimed their first win of the 2024 Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 season in impressive style, defeating Kinglake by 56 points at Heidelberg Park.

The Hawks took control of the contest midway through the first term and won every quarter in the 14.8 (92) to 5.6 (36) triumph. It was a mixture of joy and relief in the rooms for a team that had just avoided a 0-4 start to their campaign. At 1-3, they can now look forward to the next few games with some confidence.

“We are building and getting better every week,” Heidelberg West coach Dale Mayne said.

There were lots of things to like about the win, with Mayne pointing out the ruck duo of Jacob Smith and Patrick Molony, who are beginning to form a good partnership.

Smith produced a great highlight in the last term, showing some good game sense when he grabbed the ball inside 50 on the boundary line, giving off a long handball into space, but into a beneficial spot for Alex Hywood who capped off a good afternoon by kicking the last goal of the game to finish with three.

Mayne added that they had learnt a lot from their previous losses, saying that the team had been resilient and got good reward for sticking to the process.

Other forwards to shine alongside Hywood were Jordan Vellios with three goals, while Ryan Offer booted two and took some telling contested marks.

Billy Wright chipped in with a couple and also used the ball well through the midfield.

The Hawks defence played a disciplined game, especially in the second term when the Lakers drove the ball inside 50 regularly but failed to get the ball through the big sticks. Nick Paton, Max Brown and Max Post led the defence and used the ball well when exiting the defensive 50.

Heidelberg West had withstood a determined Kinglake team just prior to half time and then conceded the first goal in the third quarter to Leigh Gilbert. The Lakers at that point faced a manageable deficit of 13 points, and it looked like a close finish was in order.

But the Hawks started to dominate the general play following Gilbert’s major and finished off the term kicking the last five goals. The third of those majors was a snap from James Condello in heavy traffic, before Ryan Offer kicked the last two to send the home team into the final break with what proved to be an unassailable 42-point buffer.

At the three-quarter time huddle, Kinglake coach David Florance lamented the fact that too many opposition midfielders ran loose after half time. He urged his players to find a man and asked for the forwards to play in front.

The final term was a real struggle with both teams finding it difficult to score. The goals eventually came after the game seemed to be wrapped up, with the Hawks kicking three of the four goals for the term to cap off a great day for the club.

“We need to simplify our game structure to allow our players to play a brand of footy to compete with the best teams,” Kinglake coach David Florance said.

Florance liked the run Ben White gave his side off the wing, while noting that Lochlan Kelly was hard at it. Experienced veterans Leigh Gilbert and Lesley Adams showed their class to be among the best.

Lakers multiple best and fairest winner Bailey Robinson played his first game for the year and will be improved by the run.

By Doug Long