For the first time in 2024, the Murray Bushrangers contingent made its way to Shepparton.
The boys were first up to hit Deakin Reserve on Sunday morning, taking on the one-win Oakleigh Chargers.
The game was scrappily contested for a term, but the Bushranger boys emphatically blew the game open after quarter-time.
The game became the Joe Berry show during the second term, with the powerful forward securing three of his four majors on the day during this stanza.
Shepparton key position prospect Matt Whitlock continued to receive more time up forward with brother Jack out, and made the most of his chance again, with a goal shortly before half-time.
The contest likely could have been killed off sooner but for a wayward spray of chances that saw the Bushrangers notch 1.6 in the third term with a 20-point lead at the final change.
Some tandem offence from Euroa’s Cohen Paul and Berry — slotting his game-high fourth of the day — made the game more than comfortable, with the Bushrangers moving to a positive win-loss record in the 11.15 (81) to 9.5 (59) victory.
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Crashing out: Murray Bushrangers' Lachlan Miotto and Oakleigh's Jagga Smith. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 2 of 11
Step on it: Murray Bushrangers' Darby Wilson. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 11
Onto the boot: Murray Bushrangers' Lachlan Miotto. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 11
Latching a handpass: Murray Bushrangers' Kade Anderson. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 11
Jostling for position: Oakleigh's Matthew Haberfield and Murray Bushrangers' Ned Byrne. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 11
Set shot routine: Murray Bushrangers' Matt Whitlock. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 7 of 11
Getting his own ball: Murray Bushrangers' Indhi Kotzur. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 8 of 11
Sticky mitts: Murray Bushrangers' Joe Berry and Oakleigh's Luke Quaynor. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 9 of 11
In everything: Murray Bushrangers' Max Mahoney. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 10 of 11
Enjoying himself: Murray Bushrangers' Kade Dwyer. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 11 of 11
Leading out for it: Murray Bushrangers' Kade Anderson and Oakleigh's Charlie Whitehead. Photo by Rechelle ZammitHead coach Mark Brown observed plenty of positives on the day.
“We went into the game with a focus in and around our contest work and I think we were up by 25 in contested ball, so that was really pleasing,” Brown said.
“That lets you play the game on your terms and keep the ball locked in your forward half.
“I thought we potentially could have controlled the ball even better, but our focus has been on getting our contested methods right and we’re building out from there.”
With Matt Whitlock now having bagged six goals across the past fortnight in the absence of brother Jack as well as Josh Murphy, a new contender has emerged among the Bushrangers’ offensive stocks.
“We always planned on it, putting Matt in front of the football,” Brown said.
“I thought his game was actually better than when he kicked five against GWS. I thought his work at ground level was exceptional for a 200cm player.
“It proves he’s got the ability to play at both ends; it’s just a matter of putting the whole package together, but creating those goal opportunities is the hard part.”
With another week off before meeting the Calder Cannons in Wangaratta next Saturday, Brown and his staff can take time to assess the next area of focus.
“We’ve started to look at ball movement, and we’ll continue to work on that,” Brown said.
“We’ll start to branch off into those kinds of things, looking at our off-ball running patterns and how we set up the ground.
“We’ll keep adding layers to our game.”