Rochester fans and players alike breathed a sigh of relief when the full-time siren sounded at Princess Park on Saturday afternoon, after the Tigers had been staring down the barrel of a shock loss at three-quarter time.
It took a five-goal-to-one fourth-quarter effort from the visitors to secure a crucial four points, taking Steven Stroobants’ men a step closer to a Goulburn Valley League finals berth with a 11.14 (80) to 11.5 (71) win.
The Tigers celebrated an important win, and a milestone match for their playing coach, on Saturday, with Stroobants ticking off his 100th game in the yellow and black.
But Stroobants said his side, which was bolstered by the inclusion of Joe Atley for the Swans encounter, was slow out of the gates.
The Swans took full advantage of the Tigers’ sluggish start, booting four goals to two in the opener before extending the margin to 19 points at the main break.
“It was a solid hit-out for us,” Stroobants said.
“We got off to a pretty slow start. In that first half we couldn’t get our ball movement going and our pressure on the ball just wasn’t there.
“To the boys’ credit, at half-time we spoke about some of the stuff we needed to do, we were able to rectify some things after half-time and got it back on our terms.”
The Swans hung tough with a resurgent Rochester in the third quarter, with both sides slotting three apiece.
It wasn’t until the final stanza that the visitors started to hit their straps, clawing the game back on their terms with a crucial five goals.
“We were able to get a good run on early in that last quarter and hit the front halfway through and hold on, which was nice,” Stroobants said.
“Our pressure just wasn’t there early. Once we got that going, we were able get on top in that second half a little bit.”
Stroobants said a number of his charges came to the fore at important moments.
Young gun Mitch Cricelli was a standout, earning best-on-ground for his work in a different part of the ground.
“Mitch spent most of the day in the ruck with Dan (Russell) a bit crook. His last quarter was huge and he took some big contested grabs for us at centre half-back sitting behind the ball. He was instrumental in us getting the result,” Stroobants said.
“The Atley boys — Joe and Shaun — in the last quarter were really important in getting it done.”
With the game on the line at three-quarter time, Stroobants said he was proud of the way his side managed to get over the line in the dying stages.
“The boys responded at three-quarter time and really put their foot down in the last quarter,” he said.
“We knew we didn’t want to leave it up until next week’s results to confirm our finals aspirations. We needed a big last quarter and we stepped up.”
The win more or less affirms those aspirations for Rochester, pushing the Tigers into fourth after losses to Mooroopna and Kyabram respectively.
The game
Shepparton Swans: 4.1, 7.3, 10.4, 11.5 (71)
Rochester: 2.3, 3.8, 6.11, 11.14 (80)
Goals
Shepparton Swans: Nathan Rachele 3, James Auld 2, Zac Banch, Kurtis Dixon, Enrique Goggin, Quade Johnstone, Bryden Squire, Luca Mamone
Rochester: Steven Stroobants 4, Hugh Hamilton 2, Joseph Atley, Shaun Atley, Mitch Cricelli, Lachlan Harper, James McPhee
Best
Shepparton Swans: Bryden Squire, James Auld, Zac Banch, Isaiah Jones, Zac Clohesy
Rochester: Mitch Cricelli, Shaun Atley, Joseph Atley, Hugh Hamilton, Steven Stroobants