With two of the Mens Thirds beginning finals this week, our scribe Harry Robertson reports on the latest Thirds Reds triumph from his vantage point on the ground.
Riding high after eight straight wins, the Reds marked fan day with an end of season thriller against Old Xavs.
Fittingly, it was the same side that had dealt us our last defeat.
Fan day drew the largest crowd of the season, feverishly rifling through the merchandise on offer — hats, scarves, badges and player cards. (All credit to Adam O'Sullivan for the creativity.)
With Xavs a spot ahead of the Reds on the ladder, a win would launch us into second and put us a game from the grand final. Other subplots included club stalwart Bryce McAdam's 150th game, and a shootout for the Coleman Medal between our own Mike Sweeney and the Xavierians' full forward, tied coming into this end-of-season match-up.
The boys ran through the banner marking McAdam's milestone, with a mix of nerves and quiet confidence among the boys.
Starting on the wing, I was worse for wear after coming back from two weeks off following a holiday in Indonesia, but was eager to throw my body at something.
Xavs kicked the first to set an ominous tone. The games since we last played Xavs had been largely walkovers decided in the first quarter but this was a well-drilled opponent that we had to respect.
I thought I'd pulled one back soon after with a running snap off the outside of the foot, but the wind curled it cruelly to the right. I decided then to defer to my teammates.
That mindset defined our opening stanza. We played like a team waiting for someone else to do the hard parts. Before the game got away from us, fortunately, there were players ready to do exactly that.
Despite missing brother Tim through concussion, Jim and Tom Butler threw their weight around, treating the contest like a shared inheritance, and splitting it evenly.
George Hurley-Wellington showed his class, prompting a "who the hell is that?" from my direct opponent, as he repeatedly intercepted and stifled the Xavs attack — provoking a rare forward on defender tag early in the game.
With the wind behind us in the second quarter, the contest picked up intensity. Pleasantries were exchanged and the umpires put the whistle away, making for a low-scoring but engaging battle.
While a sharply dressed accountant Monday to Friday, Gus Conheady becomes a demon between the white lines, and willed in a beautiful goal from the pocket. You got the sense the ball was afraid of what he might do to it if it didn't go through.
McAdam didn’t let the added attention of his milestone go to his head, using his craft to link the midfield and consistently crushing Xavier's efforts to move the ball forward. Mike Sweeney kicked another, but we went into halftime down ten.
Coach Kane King gave us one of his best, spelling out clearly what we needed for a guaranteed win. I had my head down, not knowing what to add after feeling I hadn't given enough myself. More was needed.
Starting the third, Max Tieman in the ruck finally showed the aggression we'd been asking of him all year, giving his opponent fits.
Jesse Kemelfield and Josh Sawyer held the line in defence, giving our midfielders license to surge forward when the opportunity presented itself.
Having tasked himself with marking Xav's star full forward, Angus Percy grappled and fought to within an inch of the law, but kept him goalless and desperate through the second half.
The tone of the game arguably shifted for good late in the third, when Sweeney marked on the boundary line, 50 out from goal.
Against the wind, he squared up for a set shot and an Odyssey-like task.
From the sidelines, Coach King shook his head: "I wish he'd centred it, that's going to be a low-percentage kick."
But the big Irishman held firm, and against his coach's conservatism, went back and kicked a beauty.
"Still a low-percentage kick," King laughed.
Down eight but with the wind at our backs, we entered the fourth a team possessed.
With the ball finding me, I managed to work myself into the game with the support of the red and blue jumpers flanking me.
Playing with his usual combination of dare and class, Kai Menzies kicked truly to put us within a kick, before Sweeney added a couple more to extend the lead.
To their credit, Xavs refused to back down, kicking another to threaten our dream of a top two finish.
But to get there, they had to go through Ezra Janetski, who surely cemented his place in the team of the year. Combining fluently with Hurley-Wellington and Aiden Fry, Janetski's poise and dash off the backline continually set the Reds up for success, and left the opposition coach fuming.
The carry-on after the final siren was immense. The comeback win left so many delirious that some might have thought the premiership was already ours.
"Historic!" was Angus Percy's one-word description of the match, before adding: "Momentous, mercurial, enlightening... triumphant!"
Anthony Bandalan contended that despite trailing for most of the game, it was a deserving win for Fitzroy: "The cream rose to the top."
Coach King was proud of his side, conceding we were a bit "frantic" to start the game, but that ultimately "the composure was just a bit better in the end from us. Lowered the eyes, resisted the urge to blaze away, we found guys in space."
With a fan night enjoyed to the tunes of Majak Door, featuring an appearance from self-described "punk rocker" Kane King, the Reds go again this Sunday in our first final against University Blacks.
