A Luke Reynolds goal after the siren handed the Northern Blues a thrilling three-point win over Frankston on Saturday afternoon at Visy Park.
The Blues were made to survive a scare from the Dolphins, who gained their first lead of the match through a Michael Lourey major at the 26-minute mark of the last quarter.
Northern had to endure multiple surges from Frankston throughout the game, including five goals in a lightning paced third quarter which saw both teams kick a combined nine goals.
The Blues and Dolphins went end-to-end for a large portion of the second half, with Jared Matheson (4 goals) and Khan Haretuku (3 goals) providing Frankston with some spark up front.
However, both Tom Bell and Brock McLean - 11 final quarter possessions - were monumental in helping the Blues fend off the away side, combining for 38 contested possessions and eight clearances on the day.
Bell and McLean headed a midfield group that was instrumental in the win; joined by Cameron Wood (47 hitouts) and Sam Docherty (26 possessions) to assist the Blues in winning the inside 50 count 60-45.
Bell was particularly influential in a first half that saw the Blues race out to a 13 point first quarter advantage.
The Blues also received significant output from Carlton draftee Nick Holman, accumulating 24 touches and a goal, while Carlton regulars Jarrad Waite and Jeff Garlett were both sporadic in their contributions, combining for just the one goal.
Man-of-the-moment Reynolds - whose match-winner came from 25 metres out on a slight angle – spoke post–match about the emotion following his kick.
“Relief, one word, relief,” Reynolds said. “I thought the siren could go, so I went back and stuck to my routine then put it through.”
“A sort of thing like that is a dream come true.”
The win is the second victory by under a kick in as many weeks for the Blues, who erased a six goal deficit to defeat Williamstown by four points in round one.
Reynolds also touched on being on the receiving end of the fight back this time around.
“We sort of let them back in the third quarter, but last weekend they had a real crack against Sandringham so we were expecting (the comeback),” Reynolds said.
“In the last quarter it was a pretty hard slog so a lot of the boys will pull up sore, but we have a pretty big turn around so it will give us a chance to sort a few things out before Footscray”.
The Blues play Footscray at 12pm on Sunday 20 April at Whitten Oval.
NORTHERN BLUES 3.5 7.7 11.12 15. 12 (102)
FRANKSTON 2.2 4.6 9.8 15. 9 (99)
GOALS: Bell 3, Johnson 2, Waite 2, Reynolds 2, White 2, Thomas, Wilson, McLean, Wood
BEST: McLean, Bell, Holman, Docherty, Wood, Reynolds