GVL | Swans take flight against Shepparton United

Nathan Rachele was the star up forward for the Swans with five goals, while Tyreece Collison collected 40 disposals –17 kicks, 23 handballs and 10 marks – and Jamie Macmillan played a key role down back.

For United, Joel Serra had a team-high 34 possessions in his 50th senior game for the club, while Jayden Magro had another strong showing with a five-goal haul and Fergus Pinnuck had 26 touches.

Swans coach Jedd Wright said the clash was a war of attrition, but said he was glad it was his side that came out on top.

“United certainly pushed us and there were a couple of injuries to both teams, so it was sort of last man standing won,“ Wright said.

“They came out hard in those first quarters and we didn’t quite settle as well as we wanted. Kicking early points didn’t help either.

“We were pushing all day and we probably had enough of the footy to dominate, but just couldn’t convert. In the end, it was a good, grinding win.

“For us, I think it was consistent effort that eventually won us the game. If I was to put it down to anything, I would say that a persistent four-quarter effort got the job done.”

Everything to play for

There was plenty on the line when the two sides took to the field on Saturday afternoon.

The Swans were looking to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start to the new season, while on the flip side the Dees had a chance to be unbeaten after two rounds for the first time in a decade.

In a tight first half, United led by three points at quarter-time and the main interval – but the contest swung the Swans’ way in the premiership quarter.

Having been wasteful in front of goal early, the Swans fine-tuned their radar and kicked six goals to United’s two as they gained the upper hand.

In somewhat of a role reversal, it was United’s turn to rue missed opportunities as the Dees could only muster two majors from nine scoring shots.

Up by 16 points at the final change, the Swans kicked three goals to two in the fourth term to seal an important victory.

Wright said it was a change in mentality going forward that helped his side in the second half.

“We addressed a few issues at half-time. We were probably trying to bite off more than we could chew – going short and stuffing around with the footy,” he said.

“It was greasy conditions, so we went a lot more direct and gave our forwards first opportunity, that was probably the difference.

Wright praised skipper Rachele’s efforts in the forward half – on and off the ball – while also commending the Swans’ backline.

“Nathan was good, he is very crafty up forward,” Wright said.

“I was probably more impressed with his work when he didn’t have the ball, to be honest. He is putting pressure on defenders and a lot of his goals come from those pressure acts. As a pretty much permanent forward, that is what we are looking for from him.

“Our back six – Jamie Macmillan, Andrew Riordan, Rylen Damianopoulos, Diesel Batey – they really controlled the game and knew when to go fast and when to go slow, which was key.”

The Swans had plenty of the Sherrin compared to United, winning the disposal count 422 to 310 and outmarking the Demons 90 to 61.

They were also plus 10 in clearances around the ground, and had 28 more one percenters than United, a testament of their effort in greasy conditions.