ON the day the king of the ring, Muhammad Ali, passed away, Hurstbridge proved it is the king of Division 2, for now, by running away with a 28-point win over Lalor.
Trailing at both half time and three-quarter time, the Bridges booted six goals to one in the last term to win 12.13 (85) to 8.9 (57) at Lalor Reserve.
Atrocious weather led to a scrappy affair that wasn’t pretty on the eye but resulted in an evenly-fought contest between the competition’s first and sixth-placed sides.
Jarrod Tilley was outstanding for the Bridges and got his team rolling in the final term by kicking the goal that reclaimed the lead for the Bridges.
Tom Simpson kicked three final-quarter goals, including one from 60m to seal the Bridges’ sixth-straight win.
Lalor showed enough fight and determination to prove it still has a chance of competing with the top sides and possibly play finals.
At times the Bloods outplayed the Bridges and, guided by stars Shane Jacobs and Jarrod King, led up until the halfway point of the final term.
But in the slippery conditions, the Bloods overused the handball in the final term which led to numerous turnovers, which the visitors took advantage of.
On the other hand, Hurstbridge played the conditions perfectly, kicking the ball long into its forward line and applying enough pressure to cause turnovers.
Players took time to adjust to the slippery conditions in the opening quarter, but when they did it led to a goal-for-goal battle.
Majors for Chris Burton, Brayden Shaw and Dale Eames were matched by goals to Tim Murphy, Todd Hughes and Nicholas Watts, meaning the scores were level heading into the second term.
As the rain got heavier, the ball became more slippery and the contest became tighter in the clinches, resulting in a tight-knit affair, with the game played mainly in the centre of the ground.
It took just over 10 minutes for the first goal of the quarter to be produced by Hughes to give Lalor a four-point lead.
Hurstbridge didn’t look its usual self in the second term and was not patient enough to find open targets in attack, instead preferring to take flying shots at goal.
A goal from outside 50 to Shane Jacobs saw the Bloods take a deserving 10-point lead into half time.
Hurstbridge came out firing in the second half and reduced the margin to four points in little over a minute into the third term, thanks to Rhys Frost.
The Bridges’ faster tempo led to a much better performance but they could do nothing to stop Hughes recovering well from a contest to convert a miracle goal from the pocket.
The rest of the term was goal-for-goal and at the end of the quarter, the Bloods held a two-point lead.
Credit must go to the boundary umpire who slipped on the drench field but managed to get straight back up and toss the ball in.
The final term was highlighted by the shear brilliance of Hurstbridge. Coaches Trevor Fost and Rob Dyson have previously mentioned the club’s pre-season focus on running out games and the side once again showed it is the fittest club in the division.
Tom Grimes played up the field instead of staying in defence and he showed his class in setting up many of the Bridges’ good attacking plays.
Hughes tried his best to keep Lalor in the match and his 30m soccer goal could be considered a contender for goal of the round.
But no matter how much he or the Bloods tried, they could not conquer the undefeated Bridges, who will look to increase their undefeated start to the season when they host the in-form Fitzroy Stars in Round 9.
Final score: Lalor 8.9 (57) def by Hurstbridge 12.13 (85)
