It was an emotional win for Burnside Heights on Saturday in the Essendon District Football League division 2 competition.
It was a tumultuous off season for the Bears after they were found guilty of breaking the salary cap, which led to limited recruiting and some key players leaving.
On Saturday, that meant nothing as the Bears upset Hadfield to get on the board this season.
Coach Cole Harvey said it was nice for the playing group to get a win early on.
“I didn’t have high expectations,” Harvey admitted. “We ran into a good Glenroy side in round one.
“We were a little bit off early against Glenroy in the first round when the whips were cracking. We had four under-18s playing and we went back to the system that we have in place that works for well.
“We backed the boys in and it worked for us. They put in the effort and we were happy for the morale of the whole group.”
The Bears led early in the contest before the Hawks used the scoring end to turn an 11 point deficit into a nine point lead.
The third quarter was all the Bears, who kicked six goals to none to lead by 29 points at three quarter time.
“We had a really good third quarter,” Harvey said. “We kicked six goals down to the bottom end.
“We were hoping that we would hang on. Everyone had to play their role in the system.
“We scored a couple of goals and were able to steady and were able to control a fair bit of territory.
“We were able to hold them in the end.”
Jacob Ella kicked four goals for the Bears, while Andrej Krunic and Zack Williams kicked two goals each.
Harvey said full back Tyson Iglesias was best on ground, while Nick Cugllari was strong at half back
He said skipper Jordan Hughes really led from the front late in the game.
“He said after the game, it’s a bit of an emotional one,” Harvey said.
“It’s been a tumultuous off season to say the least. We stuck together and played on 29 player points.
“It was really good and a morale boosting win.”
Harvey was also really pleased with the performances of the under-18 boys who have stepped up, saying Aidan Dogan and Ethan Dalla Rosa were particularly outstanding.
The coach said the young boys will get plenty of opportunities this season.
“There were a couple of bottom age 18s who played,” Harvey said. “They are going to play some senior footy, but they will play with their age group as well.
“We are mindful of the physicality when they step up. There’s some other good ones in the 18s, we will give them a chance at different times.”
Harvey said they will celebrate the win and then start preparation for Coburg Districts on Anzac Day.
The Bears women’s side had 4.3 (27)-1.0 (6) loss to Strathmore in the division 1 competition.
