Whittlesea prevailed in the Division 2 Grand Final, defeating a gallant Fitzroy Stars outfit by 19 points at Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles were in front at every stage in the 17.14 (116) 14.13 (97) result, with their experience getting them over the line in a see-sawing affair.
The match got off to a disappointing start, with Fitzroy co-captain Lionel Proctor leaving the field in an ambulance three minutes into play following an incident which saw Whittlesea forward Paul Harrison red carded. The incident caused a half hour delay in the game.
Upon the resumption of play, the Eagles played the game on their own terms. Despite the big ground which suited the zippy Stars’ outfit, Whittlesea denied the Stars any open space and locked the ball in their forward half for the majority of the opening term.
Lucas Hobbs got the scoreboard rolling after the long break in play, running into an open goal after being paid advantage from a free kick to score the first goal of the day.
Hobbs’ major was backed up by Marcus Webb who picked up the crumbs of a pack and slammed through another for the Eagles to give them a 14-point lead only seven minutes into game time.
The Eagles then booted the next three goals of the quarter to go into the first break 33 points ahead, with Fitzroy yet to register a goal.
The Stars looked flat and took a while to get revved up, only starting to claw their way back in the final minutes of the term. However, they looked rejuvenated after the break and came out firing, winning the ball and taking the game on.
Malcolm Dow, who was adjudicated best on ground, got the Stars off to a flyer in the second quarter, booting the first goal of the term to bring the margin back to 28 points.
But Hobbs was able to reply for the Eagles, kicking his third for the match from the top of the goal square after receiving a 50m penalty.
Damien Walker kicked one at the other end to register the Stars’ second but it was quickly cancelled out by Max Dyson at the other end.
Starring down the barrel of a 40-point deficit, the Stars needed to respond quickly to stay in the contest. What followed was five minutes of pure brilliance as they piled on four successive goals to cut the margin to 14 points at 20-minute of the term.
But just as quickly as the Stars were able to work their way back, Whittlesea responded with an equally impressive 10 minutes that netted four goals in time on to lead by 35 points at the main break.
After a shortened half time break, Fitzroy got off to the perfect start in the third quarter courtesy of Jai Burns kicking a great snap goal.
As the Eagles had done so many times during the game, they were able to respond quickly through Andrew Fairchild after he marked strongly and booted his second goal.
Corey Wanganeen then replied for the Stars after he booted a goal from 40m out to keep the Stars in the contest. This was followed by a goal to Hayes who weaved through heavy traffic to kick a very classy goal to bring the margin back to 23 points.
The Stars momentum was halted when midfielder Mungara Brown was red carded for a bump on Chris Horman. The Eagles took full advantage of Brown leaving the field, with Jim Atkins kicking a goal from deep in the pocket to extend the margin to 29 points.
Fitzroy was able to bring the margin within four goals at the last change after a late goal from Alex Isailovic after a classy rove off the pack.
As the lights went on in the final quarter, so did the Stars, with Josh Wanganeen roving the ball and kicking it through to get the Stars off to a fast start.
Some goal exchanges and great free-flowing footy saw out the next 10 minutes of play, with the Eagles maintaining a 25-point lead – thanks largely to two goals in a minute to Horman and Ben Russell.
But the Stars wouldn’t go down just yet, with Hayes taking the ball from the middle of the ground from the centre square, taking a bounce and kicking truly from 50m to reduce the margin to 19 points.
It was to be the last goal of the game as the Eagles held on for their second premiership in four seasons.
It was a fairytale end to Whittlesea coach Pete Budgen reign as coach, with the Eagles sending him off on the best possible note.
The Eagles pressure was relentless throughout, while injuries cost the Stars in the end, with only one player on the interchange in the last after Jye Brennan also succumbed to an ankle injury.
After just a one-year stint in Division 2, the Eagles return back to the top flight in 2014. Meanwhile, the Stars will come back bigger and better next year after taking another significant leap forward in 2013.
Final score: Fitzroy Stars 14.13 (97) def by Whittlesea 17.14 (116)
