Last Thursday’s thumping victory had Mark Brown’s side notch its first four points of the 2023 campaign, and holds the Bushies in good stead with a trip to Bendigo to face Geelong Falcons arriving this Sunday.
Brown said a galvanised defensive effort, improved from the previous round’s narrow loss to Northern Knights, was a clear standout.
“There was no doubt it was an improvement; we got a lot right the week before against Northern apart from the last 15 minutes of the game where we conceded five goals and lost,” Brown said.
“The previous two weeks there’s been more good than bad, and against GWS we managed to be better for longer and as a result got a pretty convincing win in the end.
“It probably centred around our ability to defend better. We still conceded too many inside 50s against GWS, so we’re still letting the ball inside our 50 too often.
“But the ability of our defenders to restrict GWS to three goals was hugely impressive.”
The Bushies began with a hiss and a roar, slotting 5.0 to lead by 16 points at the first break.
While GWS was within striking distance in the opening term, that was as good as it got for the academy side as the Bushrangers’ defensive pressure restricted the traveller to a sole major across the following three quarters.
As was the case against the Knights, Shepparton United product Oscar Ryan dazzled with 35 disposals, while Coby James (Mooroopna) racked up 23 touches and seven inside 50s.
A pair of district talents managed to hit the scoreboard, with Joeve Cooper (Shepparton Swans) and Cohen Paul (Euroa) splitting the big sticks for the Bushrangers during the 13.10 (88) to 3.9 (27) win.
Fifth-ranked Geelong serves as a completely different beast this weekend, however, and Brown knows another step up will be needed from his side if the Bushies are to go back to back.
“They’re a very good side and we know, but for us it won’t be about solely winning or losing, it’ll be about making sure we continue to progress and trend north,” he said.
“As a result of that, we put a lot of work on in our ability to defend better and I think we achieved that (against GWS) and will continue to work on that.
“We know how the game needs to look for us to play well and so we’ll focus on getting those areas of the game right and hopefully playing the game more on our terms ― that won’t be easy against Geelong, but it’ll be a good test.”
Meanwhile, the Bushrangers girls were delivered a tough loss on the road, falling to Calder Cannons 10.11 (71) to 0.
Shepparton United’s Olivia McGie was among the best with eight disposals and six kicks, while Ellie Armstrong and Holly Egan (Shepparton Swans) were shining lights, tallying 11 and 12 disposals respectively.
Emma Mackie’s outfit has the chance to regroup with two round byes, next taking to the field on May 23 against Brisbane Lions Academy.
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