The Bears had to withstand a Bridges comeback late in the third quarter before going on for a 15.13 (103) to 13.9 (87) victory.
The game began with light rain falling, but it soon cleared and the ground was in good nick, as Hurstbridge, wearing its blue and white heritage jumper, began the better.
Ben Fennell, tagged by numerous Bears, got plenty of it early. But despite slotting a great goal early on, his radar seemed a little off – missing targets on the day.
Thomastown under-19s player Andrew Lovanovski was given the job on winger Nicholas Milne. Milne was terrific early and drifted down to score a goal. But Lovanovski tightened up on him after quarter time.
Daniel Chadwick, a handy midfield player for Thomastown, went forward and kicked a great goal from 45m out near the boundary. His team mates weren’t so accurate, bar for a wonderful snapped goal from Jacob Osei-Duro.
Joel Baillie then swooped on a loose ball for the Bridges and goaled from long range on the siren to give his team a 10-point lead.
The second term was goal for goal as Hurstbridge’s Scott Clarkson seemed to be on the bottom of every pack. He passed to Jack Donnelly in space and with the aid of a 50m penalty, Donnelly duly converted to give Hurstbridge its biggest lead of the match.
Domenic Mazza was everywhere for the Bears in the term and managed to just clear the pack for a long goal.
Thomastown was missing chances and Joshua Saw, the Bridges most dangerous forward, made them pay with a major from a tight angle.
Raafat Rachrache, shadowed by Callum Thomas all day, was held in check at first. But he broke free late in the half and kicked two goals, the latter on the siren, to put his team within three points.
Bears coach George Lattouf made numerous moves, but the best was Joshua Beare from defence to attack at half time.
Beare slotted three goals for the game and was part of a five-goal unanswered run midway through the term. Thomaston had blown the lead out to 28 points and appeared to be right on top.
Michael Khoury kicked two for the quarter, but was yellow carded just before three-quarter time and Hurstbridge came surging back in his absence, booting four unanswered majors itself.
The sequence began with two 50m penalties putting Scott Clarkson in the goal square and ended with a series of passes finding Anthony Heron, who had earlier taken a speccie, floating across the pack for a good mark.
His late goal reduced the margin to four points at the last change with the momentum seemingly with the Bridges.
Kyle Thompson had pleased Bridges coach Darren Blyth with his solid defensive work and Blyth asked his team to go man on man in the final quarter.
Nonetheless, the Bears seemed to have numerous loose players chopping off opposition forward thrusts in the final term, with Ramez Dagher and Nathan Sammut continually mopping up deep in defence.
Hurstbridge’s James Duclos began winning in the ruck, but his dominance wasn’t reflected in the score. His teammates fumbled when opportunities arose as Thomastown’s pressure and pace began to tell.
Up forward, the Bears were on target and nailed the first three goals of the term. The third came after smooth ball movement through the wing to find Rachrache in space for a goal on the run from an angle.
Hurstbridge worked hard to hit back. Eventually a courageous mark to Anthony Heron resulted in a goal which reduced the margin to 16 points midway through the quarter.
But it was fitting that the sealer was kicked for the Bears by Anthony Fazzari. He was clearly the best player for the victors and had continually delivered perfect passes and set up many scoring chances before finally kicking one of his own.
Thomastown moved the ball better and played a more team-oriented style than Hurstbridge. The Bears often went wide out of defence, then into the corridor and kicked to the hot spot in front of goal.
Bear Michael Thompson was restricted due to injury and is due for an operation this week.
Hurstbridge meets the top four teams in the last five weeks, including league leader Epping next. Thomastown plays Lalor next week for the Paul Broderick Cup with a real chance of making it two wins in succession.
Final score: Hurstbridge 13.9 (87) def by Thomastown 15.13 (103)
