Bullioh's Joel Heiner was one of the biggest signings of the Upper Murray league off-season. or signup to continue reading After more than 50 senior matches with Wodonga, Heiner felt the time was right to head bush and play with some of his former school mates. Heiner, alongside Jye Hodgkin, Jordan Peters and Jack Wilson all joined the kennel this season to be reunited for the first time since attending Tallangatta High School together.
"I just wanted to play with all my mates from school," Heiner said. "We have been talking about it for a decade now and this season was the right year to do it. "I went to Tallangatta High School with Kelvin Wallace, Jye Hodgkin, Jordan Peters, Matt Thomas, Jack Wilson and Joe Bolton.
"So there are a fair few of us at Bullioh this season. "The change of clubs has been fantastic and obviously the Upper Murray league is a lot more laid back. "Everyone hangs around for a beer afterwards and I've certainly enjoyed the change.
" A Dederang-Mt Beauty junior, Heiner joined Wodonga in 2015 and quickly established himself as a senior regular at John Flower Oval. A knee injury robbed him of the chance to play closer to 100-matches at the kennel. Not knowing what to expect in the Upper Murray league, Heiner said the competition still boasts some handy players.
"Obviously you get the tough match against Cudgewa every couple of weeks and even Tumbarumba have improved a lot as the season has progressed," he said. "So some weeks are tougher than others but I guess that is the same in every competition. "There are still some handy players running around in the league, especially at Cudgewa.
"Fynn Debono from Tumbarumba is another player that has caught my eye and is probably the best player in the league." Heiner, 28, has slotted into the Bulldogs midfield which has improved dramatically this season under new coach Clint Brunnenmeyer. The reigning premier Cudgewa was untouchable last season as they went through the season undefeated and spanked the Bulldogs in the grand final by 94-points.
However, Brunnenmeyer has been able to narrow the gap significantly this season with Blues prevailing by five, two, 34 and seven points in their four encounters so far this season. They meet for the fifth time in the second semi-final at Cudgewa on Saturday. Heiner couldn't resist taking a cheeky dig at Brunnenmeyer when quizzed how he rated him as a coach.
"I don't really want to stroke Clint's ego," he said. "You don't need to put any more air in his tyres, he does it all by himself. "But we have had some cracking contests with Cudgewa this season and internally we feel like we have improved every time we have played them.
"Obviously they are a quality side to come up against but feel we are extremely close to being able to beat them. "We have certainly had them on the ropes a few times and been up going into the last quarter but haven't quite been able to land the knockout blow when required. "The second time we played them, we just couldn't seal the deal.
"It's just momentarily lapses that have cost us. "If you lapse for two or three minutes, they have an uncanny knack of scoring a goal and wrestling back the momentum. "Once they get the momentum, it's hard to drag it back.
" Cudgewa's firepower with Guy Telford, Adam Prior, Ben Hall and Nick Brockley is by far the Blues' biggest asset and the major reason behind their 26-match winning streak. Heiner felt the Bulldogs' accountability would decide which side took the direct route into the grand final in a fortnight. "Internally we feel we have got the right match-up for quite a few of their big forwards," he said.
"James Wells plays on Guy Telford and they have had some intriguing battles. "Lindsey McDonald gets Adam Prior which is also a good contest. "Work-rate and skill execution will decide if we win or not.
"Everyone has to be accountable for their opponent and there is not a standout player for Cudgewa that we have to put all our effort into restricting. "They are a well rounded side but if we perform to our best they are certainly beatable." Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
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