According to Mansfield coach Chad Owens, his side fell victim to the “best quarter of local footy” he has ever seen last weekend, on their way to a crushing 68-point loss to Echuca.
Coughing up 10 goals in a brutal third term, the Eagles saw a four-point half-time lead evaporate into a 42-point deficit, with their traditionally stringent defence simply unable to stop the Murray Bombers’ onslaught.
But while there has been plenty of opportunity to examine what went wrong, Owens said he had been quick to shift focus to what was another daunting road trip to Shepparton to face the in-form Bears.
“That third quarter they (Echuca) played was unbelievable, that is as good a footy you’ll see locally, they were all on the same page and executed perfectly,” Owens said.
“We were in front at half-time though so it is obvious we can compete with them, it is just the doing it for four quarters that we need to work on.
“We learnt a lot from the game, and taken a lot of what they do as motivation as we move into another big game against Shepparton.”
Sporting the same 3-1 record as Mansfield, there are still question marks surrounding the Bears, whose triumphs have come against cellar-dwellers Shepparton United, Shepparton Swans and Tatura.
But as the old saying goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and Owens said he expected to meet an impressive Shepparton outfit on Saturday afternoon.
“It is going to be cold and windy so it will be a different sort of a game to any other we have played this year,” he said.
“Being able to execute skills under pressure is going to be the key I think, watching their video they are certainly a fast team and play a quick brand so we will be needing to be on our game defensively.
“We are excited to go out there and bounce back from last week’s disappointment against another good side.”
The big story coming out of the Eagles camp is the fitness of star ruckman Tom McDonagh, who was forced out of last week’s game at half time due to an injury.
The premier big man in the competition over the first month, Owens said he still had a number of boxes to tick to be available for this clash.
“We aren’t too sure on Tom yet, he will train tonight and see how he feels, but apart from that there will be no other change,” he said.
“If he doesn’t get up we will just have to pick a quicker team based around that, if we don’t win the taps we’ll be ready to defend.”
For Shepparton, this week’s clash with the Eagles serves as an opportunity to take its first big scalp of the season and announce itself as a finals contender.
That’s a prospect that excites Bears captain Mitch Brett.
“We are feeling pretty good after three straight wins and just improving every week which is a good thing,” Brett said.
“This week we hit a very good side in Mansfield, and we are very keen for the challenge.
“Playing against the good sides it is a great way to see where you’re at, I know Mansfield got done last week so we are expecting them to be very fired up.”
The Bears will have to pull off the upset without star forward Anthony Andronaco however, after he went down with a hamstring injury in the win against Tatura last week.
Shepparton hosts Mansfield at Deakin Reserve, with the first bounce at 2pm.