Sport
Goulburn Valley League action returns with round one blockbuster between Echuca and Mansfield
Echuca is set to kick off its Goulburn Valley League premiership defence against Mansfield in a mammoth Easter Saturday match-up, with the two teams squaring off in a standalone clash to open the season in the High Country.
The Murray Bombers completed a dominant 2023 with a convincing 36-point win over Kyabram in the grand final to secure back-to-back senior football premierships, but co-coach Simon Maddox knows that nothing is guaranteed as they enter a new season.
Speaking ahead of the season, Maddox said the group would focus simply on winning games of football, rather than distracting itself with talk of a three-peat.
“We’ll go in with a similar mindset (to last year), nothing’s set in stone until we’re playing finals, so our first goal will be to win enough games to get us to finals,” he said.
“Once we’ve done that, we’ll start to map a plan to hopefully be the premiers, but a lot of water to go under the bridge before we talk about that sort of stuff.
“We’ve had a long pre-season like everyone else and, when you see the AFL on TV just starting, our guys are ready to play footy now as well.
“We’re fully fit and we’ve got everyone on the track and football can't come quick enough for us now.”
Echuca played Mansfield once last season, running out a 42-point winner in a convincing display at Victoria Park and will enter the match as a firm favourite.
The squad looks settled, with no departures from the senior side and the return of 2022 premiership player Daniel Willis, but there is still plenty of competition for senior spots.
The thirds side claimed the premiership last season also and a number of those juniors are putting their hand up to play at the top level, leaving Maddox and co-coach Andrew Walker with perhaps the strongest side they’ve had in their time at the helm.
“Last year’s under-18s won the premiership, so those kids are really pushing through and made it really clear they want to play senior footy,” Maddox said.
“So there’s a good environment at the moment that’s conducive to challenging each other.
“I think we’ve got the strongest squad we’ve had under mine and Andrew’s tenure and we’re looking forward to the challenge that the other sides bring.”
Maddox and co won’t be the only Echuca side to kick off a premiership defence on Saturday, with the A-grade Murray Bombers netball side also set to play its first game since capturing the 2023 flag.
Belinda Lees will once again lead the side on its quest for glory, having guided her team to an impressive 12 wins from their last 13 matches on the way to the crown following a slow start to the season.
The Eagles should pose no trouble to the star-studded Echuca line-up on Saturday going by last season’s form, as Mansfield finished with a winless 0-18 record, with the Murray Bombers dishing out a 60-23 thumping in their only encounter in 2023.