Fitzroy and North Heidelberg played out thrilling draw in their Round 12 clash at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval.
With both teams eyeing second place on the Division 2 ladder, nothing could separate the teams in the 18.20 (128) to 20.8 (128) result.
Both sides will rue missed opportunities throughout the day, with the points eventually shared following Corey Wanganeen’s goal after the final siren.
The Stars started the better, resuming from where they left off a week earlier against Diamond Creek, with the first five goals of the game to assume a 31-point lead nearing quarter time.
The Bulldogs finally scored their first goal through Blake Holmes, but their joy was short-lived as Basil Sibosado kicked the Stars’ sixth goal of the quarter as they exited the first term 33-point leaders.
The break did nothing to halt the Stars’ momentum, with Jye Brennan kicking a great roving goal at the commencement of the second term to push the margin out to 39 points.
With a blowout on the cards, the Dogs responded with the next four goals to reduce the margin 20 points.
The Stars hit back to score the next two goals, but the visitors wouldn’t be denied. They went on to kick another four goals in succession to head into the second half trailing by only 10 points and with all the momentum.
North Heidelberg kicked the first two goals after the long break to hit the lead for the first time – something that appeared far from likely just 40 minutes earlier. The Bulldogs continued on to kick the next four goals to extend their lead to 24 points.
Shane Harvey was right amongst the goals, snaring four despite not kicking a major until the final minutes of the first half.
Yet again, there was to be a comeback mounted, although this time it was from the Stars. They went on a five-goal to one run heading into the final term to trail by just six points at the last change.
The start of the final quarter saw a couple if exchanges, which included a miraculous goal from Harvey. Hemmed up 50m on the boundary line, he guided through a goal off one step to give the Dogs the lead.
He then kicked another after sharking the centre clearance to extend the Dogs’ lead to 14 points, before the Stars hit back through John Hayes to reduce the margin to five points.
As they had done so often, North Heidelberg responded to Fitzroy’s challenge and the match looked sealed when Pasquale Saccuzzo kicked his second.
With 12 points the difference with a minute to go, it was left to Corey Wanganeen to snare two important points for the Stars.
He kicked a late goal to trim the margin to one straight kick and was amongst the action seconds later, when paid a mark just before the final siren. His post-siren shot a sailed through the big sticks and stole the four points from the Dogs’ grip.
Final score: Fitzroy Stars 18.20 (128) def North Heidelberg 20.8 (128)
