Sport
An almighty Swan scare defines round one Goulburn Valley League football at Princess Park
Euroa would not have expected this to be a close game, but the Magpies felt every bit of a Shepparton Swans surge at Princess Park.
Euroa appeared likely to claim victory at a canter almost all game long on a humid Saturday afternoon by the river, establishing dominance early on in the midfield and giving their admittedly undersized forward line consistent looks at it.
Dynamic forward Jett Trotter looked to have picked up where he left off with two first-quarter majors as last year’s Goulburn Valley League preliminary finalist raced to an 18-point lead at the first change.
The Swans looked to be kicking themselves out of it early, squandering four straight chances between the first and second terms, but ruckman Mark Kovacevic started to turn the midfield tide and impose his will at the contests.
The home side kicked back into the game as the main break approached through a pair of goals to recruit Matt Perry, who shone through as a consistent bright spot for the Swans in taking virtually every mark available to him.
Perry could not convert every chance in front of goal, but he gave Swans faithful plenty to look forward to with his first display in the red and white.
As for the game itself, Swans forwards continued to blow one opportunity after another as winger Silver Yousif made an explosive impact off the wing, appearing to kill the contest off with two goals in the third term.
Nursing a 27-point deficit at the final change and primarily with themselves to blame given a 5.11 output, the switch finally flicked for the Swans.
Perry was at the forefront with the final quarter’s first salvo, quickly followed by a slick snap from skipper Nathan Rachele to bring the margin back to 15.
Euroa’s only shot fired in the term was a running long bomb from big man Fletcher Paul that streaked wide before Kovacevic and Rachele struck gold to provide a nail-biting conclusion.
Euroa was more relieved than it would have expected once the final siren blew, with a titanic upset denied in the 10.9 (69) to 9.12 (66) win led by Trotter’s four majors and three to Yousif.
Magpies coach Ryan Pendlebury paid tribute to the Swans’ upside.
“(The Swans) are a much improved side from last year. They've recruited a couple of big guys who straighten them up,” Pendlebury said.
“We knew it would be a massive game on their home deck, so we’re really happy to win.
“We were missing our key forwards and our third tall wasn’t available either; Jett had to play a bit taller, but it didn’t seem to bother him.
"Silver started well on the wing and once they put a bit of time into him I asked if he wanted to go forward and loosen up a bit.
“It certainly worked; he’s a handful and he’s very fast.”
Glowing praise aside, there remained the apparent concerns over Euroa’s late fadeout that nearly upended what once looked like a comfortable win.
“A couple of turnovers really cost us,” Pendlebury said.
“They really hurt us on the way back and it’s hard to defend that.
“They punished us and that’s what they’re good at with their leg speed.
“We train on a lot of that end-of-game stuff, though, so I’m not happy it was close, but I’m happy we held on when it was close."
While the Swans will next face a stuttering Mansfield side, Euroa’s reward is hosting a Tatura outfit that comes in riding the ultimate high of an after-the-siren boilover win.
"I think Tatura is pretty similar to these guys because they were missing some targets last year, but the Ryan boys being back will straighten them up,” Pendlebury said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a bit of movement across the ladder this year, because the bottom teams have picked up well.
“I think it’ll be more even than it has been in a few years.”