West Preston-Lakeside has moved into fifth place on the Division 1 ladder with a thrilling seven-point over Lower Plenty at Montmorency Park in Round 17.
The Roosters led for most of the day, despite the Bears having eight more scoring shots in the 14.6 (90) to 11.17 (83) result.
The visitors deserved the win after some fine last-gasp defensive efforts, before going on the attack to in the last minutes to kick the winning goal.
The Bears however will be kicking themselves after they kicked 17 behinds, with only 11 goals to show for their efforts.
They had the ball inside their forward 50m for the majority of the final five minutes, but just couldn’t get a shot at goal. The loss sees them slide down to seventh on the ladder and results will have to go their way in Round 18 to play finals.
The Bears started the better, booting the first two goals of the game through Bill Barden and Bowen Zimbolani. But the Roosters were the side who finished the quarter stronger with the final three goals, to go into the second term leading by four points.
The Roosters couldn’t replicate that form at the start of the second term as Barden booted his second of the day to snatch the lead back for the Bears.
But once again the Roosters were able reply with Glenn Robertson and Peter Shepherd snaring goals to get the lead back for the Roosters, who took a 10-point advantage.
A couple of goal exchanges saw out the first half with the Roosters going into the second half with an eight-point lead. The Bears could have been in front, but could manage just five goals from their 13 scoring shots after dominating most of the play.
Tom Keys continued his good game for Lower, snaring his second goal right at the start of the third term to get the Bears off to a ripping start.
Some more missed opportunities for the Bears followed, as Adrian Natoli capitalised at the other end by slotting a good running goal to put the Roosters back in front.
The woeful kicking continued for the Bears with another three behinds, as Robertson and Shepherd were able to capitalise for the Roosters to push the margin to 20 points.
The Bears however finally scrambled to get their kicking boots back on as Campbell Brown and Barden ended the term in a positive manner, kicking the final two goals of the third to cut the home side’s deficit to nine points at the final change.
After seven minutes of contested and tight footy, Barden finally broke the fourth-quarter scoring drought as he kicked the opening goal reduce the margin to a single point.
Teammate Matthew Vasilevski was able to follow his lead, kicking a magnificent left foot running goal to give the Bears’ the lead and get their faithful on their feet.
A grandstand finish seemed imminent as Shepherd was awarded a free kick in front of goal. He made no mistake as he slotted the ball through to level the scores.
The goal gave the Roosters the momentum for the minutes that followed, but a crucial error saw Matthew Duckworth pounce as he quickly threw the ball on his boot to give the Bears a one-goal lead.
Luke Lirosi was able to quickly reply for the Roosters to once again tie it all up. His side was then able to force the ball forward for a crucial behind to take the lead, before a goal to Steven Shaw on the siren put the result beyond doubt as the Roosters came away with the win.
Shepherd was the Roosters’ best with five goals and he was followed by Shaw and Michael Tilmouth-Turner, who was a great reader of the ball down back.
Keys was crucial down back for the Bears and was assisted by Duckowrth and Ayden Doumtsis.
Both sides will both need to record away wins in the final round of the season to play finals. The equation is much simpler for West Preston-Lakeside, who can’t miss the top five should it beat Montmorency.
The Bears travel to Bill Lawry Oval to take on eighth-placed Northcote Park.
Final score: Lower Plenty 11.17 (83) def by West Preston-Lakeside 14.6 (90)
