Fitzroy Stars book first grand final berth since 2014, holding off Old Paradians in thriller

Old Paradians kicked the final seven goals of the game but Fitzroy Stars, inspired by Patrick Farrant’s eight majors, held on to book its first grand final since 2014.

Patrick Farrant in action for Fitzroy Stars. Picture: Field of View Photography

Fitzroy Stars coach Lionel Proctor admits the last quarter of Saturday’s semi-final win over Old Paradians aged him.

The Stars held a seemingly dominant 48-point lead at the six minute mark of the final term at Lalor Reserve and one foot in the NFNL Division 3 grand final.

What happened next was very nearly one of the all-time comebacks as Paradians piled on seven goals in a blistering 20-minute onslaught.

But it wasn’t enough.

Fitzroy held on for a heart-stopping six-point win, 15.9 (99) to 14.9 (93), and is through to its first decider since 2014.

Jai Burns in action for Fitzroy Stars. Picture: Field of View Photography

Proctor was equal parts thrilled and exhausted after the game.

“It’s bloody exciting,” Proctor said.

“There’s been a lot of hard work and some down years in between, but it’s exciting for the fellas, for the club and the community as well.

“I said after the game I reckon I aged a few years in the that last quarter.

“They were coming really hard, Sammy Gilmore is an absolute jet and so hard to stop.

“We knew they were going to take their chances and go for everything, they had the momentum and we had to grind it out a little bit.

“We tried to get numbers behind the ball and they kept evening up so we were lucky we had a big lead and there was a lot of relief when the siren went.”

Fresh from a week off, Fitzroy Stars burst out of the blocks with a five-goal-to-nil opening quarter, taking a 31-point lead.

The Stars’ attack was fuelled by Collingwood VFL-listed spearhead Patrick Farrant.

The 190cm key forward was nigh unstoppable with eight goals, continuing his red-hot form that had seen him kick 17 goals in the three games leading into finals.

Patrick Farrant in action for Fitzroy Stars. Picture: Field of View Photography

The Raiders responded in the second term with four goals but the margin remained at 29 points at half-time.

The Stars’ pushed the lead out to 39 points at three-quarter-time and kicked the first two goals of the fourth quarter.

However, Sam Gilmore then took control in the ruck as Paradians stormed home but ran out of time.

Raman Winmar, James Trajkovski and Farrant were standouts for the Stars, while Jai Burns, Allan Norris and Kain Proctor also impressed.

“Patty’s a freak, he’s certainly hard to match up on,” Proctor said.

“He’s good in the air but good on the ground as well, once it hits the deck he becomes a small fella.

“I thought Raman Winmar was absolutely huge with his spark, he’s so quick, explosive in and around packs.

“The way he can weave in and out and get out of traffic and use the ball well, he gives us a spark.

“James, he’s still so young, but we’re able to play him in every position and he doesn’t complain he just gets on the with the job.

“We had him playing half-forward, onball, wing, or pushing back in the backline and he’s so good on his left foot.”

For Paradians, Gilmore was a best afield and Marcus Nolan, Joel Tolli and Heath Phillips stood tall.

Fitzroy Stars will now prepare for its first grand final since 2014, when it lost to North Heidelberg in the Division 2 decider.

WRAP: LET’S GO! LOCAL FOOTY FINALS ARE HERE

LEADER: GET YOUR NORTHERN FOOTY NEWS HERE

NFNL: LOWE CONVERTS OPPORTUNITY INTO MEDAL

“The break is tricky because you’ve got so much time to think about it,” Proctor, who played that day, said.

“That kind of happened (on Saturday) we just wanted to get stuck in.

“We spoke about it after the game, enjoy the moment, enjoy the process and we’ve got the week off as well which is handy.”

Old Paradians will now face the winner of Sunday’s Mernda-Epping semi-final in next week’s preliminary final.