Fitzroy Stars cement NFL Division 2 belief with crucial victory over Whittlesea at Sir Doug Nicholls Oval
Fitzroy Stars coach Hayden Heta believes Saturday’s victory over Division 2 contenders Whittlesea could be a “defining” win, showing the club’s victory over Eltham was not a flash in the pan.
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Fitzroy Stars coach Hayden Heta believes Saturday’s victory over Whittlesea could be a “defining” win.
After a slow start to the season, the Stars have now picked up wins over NFL Division 2 premiership contenders Eltham and Whittlesea in the past three matches.
A dominant third-quarter fuelled Fitzroy’s 31-point win at Sir Doug Nicholls Oval, in a week the football world celebrated the legacy of indigenous players.
“We spoke briefly about that (AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round),” Heta said.
“We definitely used it as motivation but our season was on potentially on the line so we had a number of things to play for.”
Heta said the 11.13 (79) to 6.12 (48) victory gave the players the belief they could match the top teams.
“It was a massive game for us … a defining match for our season,” he said.
“If we had have dropped that it would have been a pretty long road for the remainder of the year.
“We dropped a couple of (close) games early and that really hurt.
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“Winning the game against Eltham gave us belief and to beat Whittlesea cemented that belief, it was reward for all our hard work.”
Whittlesea held a two-point lead at half-time but were blown out of the water as the Stars piled on seven goals to one.
Heta, Djye Thorpe-Morgan, Jungala Ellis and John Hayes all booted two goals as the Stars’ forward line found their range.
Midfielders Cam Hall and Kain Proctor stared in the win while full-back Josh Saveka returned from a three-week absence to bolster the back six.
“Josh is our full-back, he’d been out for three weeks, so it was great to have him back, he’s a premier defender,” Heta said.
“We probably had our best back six in, so it’s good to get that continuity and consistency in our team.
“Cam had his best game for the club this year, he’s a quality midfielder and really stood up in that third quarter.”
The Stars will look to claim back-to-back wins when they face winless Epping on Saturday while Whittlesea hosts Watsonia.
Elsewhere in the NFL, West Preston-Lakeside’s horror season continued with a 23-point loss to Heidelberg while Northcote Park fell to a 54-point defeat at the hands of Montmorency.
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