Fitzroy Stars have booked their ticket to the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 Grand Final after defeating Ivanhoe by 76 points at Main Street Recreation Reserve.
After its surprise loss to Laurimar last weekend the Stars bounced back against Ivanhoe with a convincing 17.15 (117) to 6.5 (41) triumph.
Neville Jetta’s men will now face the Power for the fourth time this season in next weekend’s Division 3 decider.
Elijah Taylor starred in attack in the victory for the Stars, kicking three goals and being well supported by Alex Williamson and Patrick Farrant who also kicked three goals each.
Ethan Penrith and Kain Proctor both had major impacts, with Proctor also kicking three goals.
For Ivanhoe an excellent second season in the NFNL concludes. Tristan Stead led the way in attack again, kicking two goals to finish the season on 45.
The Stars entered the game as favourites having not lost to Ivanhoe in their two previous meetings dating back to 2024.
The game started strong for the Stars who managed to grab the first goal of the game, Elijah Taylor gave the team a strong presence scoring the goal within the first two minutes.
Ivanhoe made it tough to keep this momentum going as it followed four behinds from the Stars who continued pressing hard in attack
Just as Ivanhoe snuck in their first goal in the last part of the quarter, it was quickly shut down by Fitzroy’s Kain Proctor who kicked one after the siren heading into quarter time to push their lead out to 17 points at the first break.
Fitzroy managed to push further in front in the second quarter, making their lead more comfortable.
Fitzroy’s Elijah Taylor continued his prominence, kicking another two this quarter and playing a huge role in getting the team in front.
The three goals from Ivanhoe this quarter left them 24 points down, just not enough to get in front by half time.
A special guest appearance from Eddie Betts must have put something in the air for the Stars as they broke off in the third quarter, achieving a lead of over 50 points.
The former AFL player kicked his first goal in the third quarter, a term where the Stars kicked the first five goals
However, Ivanhoe didn’t give up until the final siren had gone. Although 53 points down, Ivanhoe had a few forwards that pushed through when they could throughout the day. Tristan Stead and Lucas Keyhole kept the energy alive until they were all out of luck.
After conceding the first goal of the last the Stars then kicked the final five goals of the game, sealing a 76-point triumph.
