Whittlesea ruckman Jeremy Page kicked four final quarter goals to help Whittlesea overcome a 54-point deficit at three quarter time to beat the Fitzroy Stars.
The Eagles booted 13 goals in the final term to win 19.14 (128) to 18.12 (120) over a valiant Stars outfit who proved they are a genuine contender for the Division 2 title.
When both sides lined up under the Aboriginal flag prior to the match to recognise the profound contribution the indigenous community has given to footy, not one person at that ground could know what a spectacular game they were about to witness.
The Eagles controlled the first five minutes of play, however inaccuracy again proved a problem as they missed three early opportunities. Fitzroy was able to kick the first three goals with John Hayes finding plenty of the ball early.
A goal on the siren to Brenton Briffa was the Eagles’ only major for the first term and the Stars took a 13-point buffer into quarter time and proceeded to run riot for the next two quarters.
Malcolm Dow, Hayes and Lionel Proctor were massive for the Stars, with their forward pressure proving too much for the Eagles’ defence.
Versatile Eagle Luke Deards was moved forward to get his side back into the contest and combined with Brent Toll who goaled after a deft crumb off the pack.
However, Allan Norris, Josh Wanganeen and Mungara Brown dominated the centre clearances for the Stars who kicked four of the next six goals to push the margin out to 32 points at half time.
Once again, the Stars gained the early ascendancy in the third quarter with Peter Hood receiving a free kick in the square to push the margin out to 38.
A 45-metre goal on the run from Deards, who played his best game of the season, lifted the Eagles with Lucas Hobbs following up with a 45-metre on the run goal of his own to give the Eagles some hope.
But the comeback was short-lived as goals from Tyson Lovett-Murray, Leslie Bamblett, Jai Burns and Mungara Brown put the Stars 54 points ahead at the last change.
Drastic changes were needed for the Eagles and Pete Bugden did exactly that.
Paul Harrison shifted to defence, while fellow star forward Andrew Fairchild moved into the midfield.
The Eagles exploded out of the blocks in the fourth with Jeremy Page moving forward and kicking two in a minute after strong marks to bring the margin back to 42 points.
A quick reply from Mungara Brown put the game seemingly out of reach, however Lucas Hobbs then kicked his second and when Fairchild kicked truly thoughts of a comeback drifted slowly into the Eagles minds.
Scott McAuliffe then snapped from the boundary before Nathan Stefanile continued the run of magic moments with a 45m bomb on the boundary.
Luke Deards moved into the ruck and proceeded to dominate, giving the Dyson brothers and Briffa first use of the footy at every clearance.
Page marked strongly and kicked his third and with 10 minutes left in the final quarter Andrew Fairchild and Roy Dyson continued the Eagles run as they brought the margin back to six.
Leslie Bamblett was the Stars best up forward and when he kicked his third of the game the nerves around the ground lifted to a new level.
A quick clearance and mark from Page who banged home his fourth was made better for Eagles’ supporters when midfielder Marcus Webb snapped quickly to put the Whittlesea in front for the first time.
The intensity of the crowd reached fever pitch as Damien Walker put the Stars back in the front with only minutes left to play.
But the Eagles were not finished and when Brent Toll received a free kick 40m out on a slight angle with only moments left, the crowd was standing in hope.
To the Eagles’ delight, Toll kicked straight and with only seconds left Nathan Stefanile made sure of a historic victory with a 45m set shot to push the final margin to eight points.
Final score: Whittlesea 19.14 (128) def Fitzroy Stars 18.12 (120)
