Against Echuca at the weekend, Shepparton Swans showed just how scary they can be when the wheels begin turning.
The Swans, known for their speed and youthful spring, gave the league-leading Murray Bombers a serious run for their money during the first half at Princess Park, but were unable to sustain the pressure in the following quarters.
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Rising high: Echuca's Kane Morris. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 2 of 9
Friendly fire: Swans' Nathan Rachele runs into teammate Quade Johnstone. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 3 of 9
Gone: Echuca's Riley Smith is caught holding the ball. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 4 of 9
On the hunt: Echuca's Noah Langborne. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 5 of 9
Stiff arm: Echuca's Sam Reid. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 6 of 9
Man of the moment: Echuca's Liam Tenace. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 7 of 9
Party time: Swans' Zac Clohesy celebrates a goal. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 8 of 9
Apply the pressure: Swans' Enrique Goggin. Photo by Aydin PayneImage 9 of 9
Wrapped up: Swans' Tom Preece. Photo by Aydin PayneThe side trailed by a goal at the main break, but the wheels seemingly fell off as time went by as Echuca kicked back with force to notch what was eventually a comfortable 21.9 (135) to 11.7 (73) win.
That’s not to say Swans coach Jedd Wright couldn’t take anything out of the loss ― quite the contrary.
“You’re never purely happy when you have a loss, but I think we’re showing some really great progress,” he said.
“Against Mooroopna last week we played really good footy, and Echuca for two and half quarters we showed when we play our brand of footy we can match it. Our next step is just doing it for four quarters.
“Not many teams really match it with Echuca in terms of kicking goals.
“We know we’re a really undersized team, but in that first half we took so many positives.
“We matched them with the contested ball considering how big and strong their mids are, then once we got it on the outside we really put them under pressure with our speed.”
The Swans were missing several key members such as Max Clohesy, Nathan Hrovat, Andrew Riordan, Jamie Macmillan and Bowen Calogero going into the contest, making the magnitude of their first-half effort all the more impressive.
A six-goal first quarter handed the Murray Bombers a fast start, but the Swans responded with five in the second to trail by one goal at half-time.
But for the second time in as many weeks, the Murray Bombers hit the afterburners in the second half.
After torching Kyabram in the final half the previous week, Echuca slammed home 11 goals to the Swans’ two in the second half, with Liam Tenace (eight goals), Cameron Valentine and Hugh Byrne inspiring the Murray Bombers to a 62-point win, their 13th of the season.
But despite all of the stars in green, Wright was wowed by one of his own.
“Zac Banch was unbelievable on ball; if you can give more than three votes for best-on-ground for both teams, he certainly would’ve earned it. He’s in ripping form at the moment,” he said.
“He smashed them on the inside, they tried to tag him out of the game, but he really thrived once they sent someone to him.
“As soon as he got space he was electric, just his skills and polish were a step above anyone else out there on the day.”