A six-goal third quarter proved to be the catalyst for the Fitzroy Stars, who defeated Epping by 35 points at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval to move one game closer to a Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 minor premiership.
The Stars got out to a 23-point half time advantage before their massive third term made it a 51-point ball game heading into the last quarter, and while they were outscored four goals to one in the term, it didn’t take away from the home side’s dominance as they finished 15.9 (99) to 9.10 (64) winners.
It’s a result that has important implications for both teams approaching the final home and away round of the season next week.
The Stars have all but secured top spot and will do so if they defeat Kilmore in away from home next week. If they lose, they will need to hope Old Paradians don’t prevail over Old Eltham Collegians by enough of a margin to overtake them on percentage.
For the Blues, they now drop out of the top five, and will need to defeat Lalor at home next week and hope that the Turtles fall short to the Raiders if they are to feature in finals action.
It was Kain Proctor and Patrick Farrant who stared for the victorious team, combining for a total of 10 majors, five of which came in the dominant third quarter.
Joshua Bawden competed all day long for the visitors, providing a target in plenty of contests to give his teammates plenty of opportunities to push forward.
Archer Bugden and Adrian Cirianni slotted two goals each for the men in blue.
Farrant would be involved in the early stages of the game. He marked a high inside 50 entry just a minute into match, however he missed his set shot opportunity, before making up for it moments later by snapping a goal from directly in front.
Bugden would respond for the visitors with two great majors. His opener coming from some crafty work at ground level, before he split the middle with his checkside kick from a tight angle, to make it two goals in a minute for him and his side.
Despite conceding the opening major, Epping looked the better team early, but they couldn’t get much reward for their efforts, highlighted by some exquisite ball movement which saw Adrian Alfonsi mark truly inside 50, however he too hit the post with his set shot.
The Stars meanwhile took the most of their opportunities going forward, looking for the red-hot hand of Farrant on most occasions who seemed to clunk everything that came his way. He would go on to find the big sticks twice more in the opening term, eventuating in an 11-point advantage for the hosts at quarter time.
The Stars started the second period just as they had finished the first, winning clearances and finding targets inside 50. Alex Williamson unselfishly dished off a shot at goal to Anthony Walker, who made no mistake with his set shot.
Having conceded four straight goals up to that point, Marc Tartaglia found a much-needed major for the visitors to prevent the game from being blown open.
But their hope was short lived when Farrant showcased his talents again to mark and convert another set shot to make it four goals for the half.
With Lionel Proctor’s men ahead by 23 points at the main break, they would put the foot down and nail six of the next seven majors to all but seal another four points.
Kain Proctor was unstoppable in the period, accumulating plenty of the Sherrin and finding the big sticks on three occasions.
The Blues would still register four scoring shots for the quarter despite their opposition’s dominance but finished the term with a 1.3 return.
Their lone goal came in between three-goal bursts from the Stars, with Farrant and Proctor owning the contest inside their attacking half.
It looked like the 51-point advantage at the final change was only going to grow throughout the last term for the home side, particularly when Alex Williamson strolled through to take the margin to a game-high 57 points.
But despite the result being a foregone conclusion, Epping continued to dig in and managed four unanswered majors to end the game, taking the margin to a slightly more respectable 35 points by full time.
