It was the battle of the cellar dwellers in the Goulburn Valley League on Saturday.
Benalla hosted Shepparton United — both young and developing sides expected to feature in the bottom section of the ladder — and it was hard to separate the two teams heading into the match.
As it turns out, it was even harder to separate them after as the game finished in a draw, 8.12 (60) to 8.12 (60).
The Saints took control of the contest early thanks to inaccuracy from United, which kicked 0.5 in the opening term.
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Contested grab: Benalla’s Lachlan Sykes and Jarrad Waite fly for the footy. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 2 of 9
Reaching out: Benalla’s ruckman Mark Marriott. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 3 of 9
Slingshot football: Benalla’s Hamish Willett. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 4 of 9
Get the hands clear: Benalla’s Tom Riley. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 5 of 9
Pressure, pressure, pressure: Benalla’s Tyler McGregor tackles Shepparton’s Ed Adams. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 6 of 9
Ruckin’ hell: Benalla’s Lachlan Sykes. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 7 of 9
Forward 50 entry: Benalla’s Lachlan Sykes. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 8 of 9
One-on-one duel: Benalla’s Mark Marriott. Photo by Brenden PaddockImage 9 of 9
Hold on! Benalla’s Charlie McCarthy tackles Shepparton’s Kaedyn Napier. Photo by Brenden PaddockBenalla held a 20-point lead at half-time as the Saints hunted their first senior victory since round 15 last year.
However, United was unwilling to let slip its best chance to secure a win early in the season as it evened the contest in the third quarter before storming home in the last, kicking 5.0 to 1.5 to tie the scores.
Among the best for Benalla were Nick Mellington, Tom O’Brien, Wade King, Jordan Wolff and Christopher Welsh, while Lachlan Sykes finished with three majors.
Shepparton United, led by coach Duane Hueston, was unable to edge itself over the line in the dying stages, as Hueston said an eery silence covered the ground in a fog after the final siren sounded.
“After the game on the field, it was just eerily quiet,” he said.
“But then once we got into the rooms and dissected it and talked and worked through it and pumped all the positive things we had done.
“The spirits after that, we shifted their mindsets to ‘Hey guys, two points is better than none’.
“It’s a start, and we will build from it and take a little bit of confidence and the things we did well into next week.”
Benalla and Shepparton United have faced tough starts to the season; across the first two games, the Saints had an average losing margin of 88.5 points compared to United’s 79.
Shepparton United will now turn its attention towards this weekend when it hosts Kyabram at Deakin Reserve, while Benalla will have to make the trip to Mansfield to take on an in-form Eagles side.