The Fitzroy Stars held off a late Thomastown comeback to retain the NAIDOC Cup in a four-point thriller at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval.
Trailing by 21 points at three quarter time, Thomastown kicked four of the last six goals to fall agonisingly short of the Stars in the 12.12 (84) to 11.14 (80) result.
Vaasili Tuifao was again prevalent, booting three goals, while Allan Norris was impressive in the final term, helping the Stars hold onto the lead.
Both sides took time to settle into the game in the opening term. Slow ball movement made it difficult for forwards to make leads into space and this resulted in a large number of intercept marks across half back.
Josh Beare racked up possessions for Thomastown in the opening term and his uncontested mark in defence led to Adrian Natoli’s opening goal for the Bears.
Thomastown was the better side in the first quarter, playing in a tenacious manner that saw Bears players first to the contest on many occasions.
Along with Natoli, Nick Horman converted for the Bears, but against the run of play it was the Stars who led at quarter time, thanks to two goals from Tuifao.
Following a sloppy first quarter the Stars showcased all their talents in the second term. The home side kicked five unanswered goals to break open the match before Michael Collier hit the scoreboard for the Bears.
In a worrying sign for Bears defender Luke Wakeling, Tuifao took a magnificent mark and kicked his third goal of the game, while Kain Proctor kicked consecutive goals.
The game looked done and dusted at half time, as the Stars midfield overpowered the Bears in the second term to take a 25-point advantage into the main break.
But Thomastown wasn’t going to give up fighting and kicked the first three goals in the third quarter. Declan Paras came to life in the third term for the visitors and assisted in all three goals. He also had two opportunities to convert majors but missed both of his attempts.
The behinds came back to bite the Bears as Jye Karpany and John Hayes kicked goals to hand the Stars a 21-point lead at the final break.
The highlight of the third term was Jacob Osei-Duro’s screamer on the wing, which was reminiscent of the iconic Alex Jesaulenko high grab.
Conceding the final two goals of the quarter was expected to end the Bears’ hopes of victory, but it only spurred on their fight back in the final term.
Turnovers kicking out of defence allowed Collier, Cameron Dawson and Julian Terzioski to kick goals for the Bears. When Matthew Dirkx kicked truly, the Stars’ lead was cut down to just three points.
The Stars were under enormous pressure and struggled to get the ball forward. On one of their rare attacks, Alex Williamson had the chance to seal the game when running into an open goal. But he only managed a behind, which kept Thomastown in the game.
Thomastown continued to attack but the Stars held strong in the final stages and when the final siren sounded, relief swept Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval.
The victory leaves the Stars in third position on the A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 ladder ahead of a match-up against Lower Plenty, while the defeat saw Thomastown slide out of the top-four heading into a Round 12 match against cross-town rival Lalor.
Final score: Fitzroy Stars 12.12 (84) def Thomastown 11.14 (80)
