Not a drop of precipitation fell on Tatura Park between 2.30pm-5pm on Saturday, yet a howling breeze resulted in two genuinely wacky quarters of football.
Shepparton met Echuca in the weekend’s Goulburn Valley League qualifying final and the elements were up to their menacing best as a clear scoring end got the Bears off to a flyer.
Ted Lindon and Xavier Stevenson’s charges hit the Murray Bombers for six in the first quarter only to be unravelled by an eight-goal Echuca barrage in the fourth, the final score reading 12.16 (88) to 8.5 (53) in the latter’s favour.
Let’s throw on our lab coats — with GVL Data sewn into the pockets, of course — and discover how this happened.
Shepparton brutally punished Echuca for its mistakes in the middle of the battleground, scoring 32 of its 38 first-quarter points from turnovers while leading intercept possessions 21-18.
The Murray Bombers coughed up the ball 17 times to Shepparton’s 11 in the midfield while not ceding possession once inside their back 50, indicating the Bears made excellent use of getting stolen ball forward and converting.
That, and Shepparton absolutely sprayed the ball inside 50 at will.
The Bears monstered the inside 50 count 16-5, utilising the conditions to cause havoc and have the Echuca defenders on the turn with every forward movement.
Luke Smith, Trent Herbert and co roosted the ball from range and made the Murray Bombers pay with ruthless execution as Shepparton’s early goal accuracy hovered at 75 per cent.
But after the first-quarter poke by the Bears, Echuca handed out some last-gasp revenge.
And it was indeed a dish best served cold.
First and last quarter stats - Echuca v Shepparton
Disposals
Shepparton: 74 & 65
Echuca: 83 & 88
Turnovers
Shepparton: 19 & 22
Echuca: 22 & 18
Inside 50s
Shepparton: 16 & 9
Echuca: 5 & 23
Goals
Shepparton: 6 & 0
Echuca: 0 & 8
The stat chart from the final quarter was all Echuca green as the Murray Bombers led in disposals (88-65), loose ball gets (20-9), clearances (13-8) and inside 50s (23-9), while Shepparton mustered +17 in pressure.
The latter was likely sustained during the first 15 minutes of the last term as, despite Liam Tenace’s early goal, the Bears defended like madmen and held on for dear life trying to keep the lead intact.
Then along came ex-Shepparton gun Daniel Willis to bring Echuca within one point before the Murray Bombers booted seven majors in eight minutes to whisk the win away from underneath the Bears’ noses.
Will Lindon and Stevenson’s side sing the redemption song against Mooroopna on Sunday?
Going on history, they certainly should.
The Bears and Cats last tangoed in round 11 and Shepparton claimed a 69-point win, having out-possessed the disposal machine of Mooroopna 381-355.
A massive +54 in Bears’ pressure and contested marks gives a little hint to what worked on the day, and if Shepparton can conjure the same blend of intensity and cool-headedness, a spot in the prelim may await.
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