The Fitzroy Stars have strengthened their grip on top spot with an eight-point win over Laurimar at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval in round 13 action of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 Football.
The home team had to come from behind at the last change and kick against the breeze in the final term to clinch the 11.10 (76) to 10.8 (68) victory.
Laurimar produced some great football at times in their quest to overcome the unbeaten Fitzroy Stars, but just fell short in a seesawing affair.
“So proud of our fight and to play simple footy under great pressure was important,” said Fitzroy Stars coach Neville Jetta. Jetta gave credit to defender Corey Salvador who took numerous intercept marks at critical times.
He also gave a tick to Kyle Thomas who prevented Patrick Fitzgerald from becoming a match-winner. Kain Proctor often racks up the disposals while using the ball well and these skills were again on display.
The game kicked off NAIDOC week and a big crowd watched the Stars make use of the breeze towards the St Georges Road end with a four goal to one first term. Eddie Betts was an inclusion for the Stars and he had two early majors.
The Power flew out of the blocks in the second quarter with early goals to Josh Leather and Kaiden Arthur. Five minutes in, Jai Langford marked outside fifty and handballed to Ethan Bateman who drilled the shot goal post high. That goal reduced the margin to just two-points.
It was an even contest for the rest of the first half, but Patrick Fitzgerald’s second goal for the quarter gave the visitors a five-point lead heading into the main break.
Given the wind, Stars fans would’ve been looking for them to take a strong lead into the last change. Their plans were working fine when Betts kicked his fourth early on to put his team in front.
But goals to Kaiden Arthur and Calder Cannons player Cooper Herbert swung the momentum back in favour of Laurimar. Herbert’s major was one for the highlights reel and included some nice in-swing to go through the big sticks.
Goals were hard to come by after that and the Power had a handy 11-point buffer at the end of the third quarter.
At the Laurimar huddle, coach Jimmy Atkins urged his team to win the contests and go for deep entries into forward fifty.
Kicking into the wind and behind on the scoreboard, Stars fans were rueing the late withdrawal of Patrick Farrant who was called up for VFL duties. A marking key forward would’ve been a great asset. Brock Carter stepped up to provide that key target.
Playing coach Neville Jetta set the tone for the final term when he went into the centre square and won the first clearance. It led to a mark in the square to Carter who converted the shot. He had another a few minutes later to put his team in front.
Betts slotted his fifth soon after and the Stars had kicked 3.3 to nil in the opening ten minutes to swing back the momentum.
The Power needed to dig deep and Patrick Fitzgerald’s third reduced the deficit to four points with plenty of time left on the clock. But the final goal of the game came soon after when Elijah Taylor kicked his second for the Stars.
Laurimar continued to press forward but could only manage behinds. Losing the contested game early in the last term and failing to hit targets going forward saw the game slip from their grasp.
They were able to win their last three matches with scores in the 70s and this time scored 68 in a narrow loss.
“To beat the best, you have to play four quarters and we didn’t do that today”, said Laurimar coach Jimmy Atkins.
Atkins loved the work of Luke Wilson at the coalface as well as Ethan Bateman in a key defensive role.
Jacob Lawson was swung onto Betts in the first half and would’ve gained invaluable experience playing on a legend.
Stars player Brock Carter was awarded the NAIDOC medal for his two goals at a critical time and also his work around the ground.
These powerhouses of the league are likely to meet again come finals time and their fans will relish the opportunity as they both vie for a grand final win.
