BEST BATTLES
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Another edition of Best Battles has arrived – was your team on the right side of the memorable ledger?
GOULBURN VALLEY LEAGUE
Rochester v Shepparton Swans
Round 14, 2013 at Princess Park
Shepparton Swans 13.14 (92) lt Rochester 16.10 (106)
The post-match script couldn’t have been more different when the Tigers got the better of the Swans in 2013.
A dominant Grant Weeks kicked eight goals for Rochy, while Luke Gestier added five of his own.
It was a performance Tigers coach Peter White described as his side’s best win of the season.
‘‘It was our work when we didn’t have the footy and it started a little bit in the last seven minutes of the second quarter,’’ White said.
“We thought we played very well as a team after half-time and did a lot of hard things . . . we ticked a lot of boxes we mentioned with work-rate and things we’re measuring.”
Meanwhile, Swans mentor Brett Warburton didn’t hold back in his criticism of his own players labelling them as ‘‘selfish’’ and ‘‘a bunch of front-runners’’.
Elliott Bowen was named best-on-ground for the visitors.
Echuca v Seymour
Round 13, 2018 at Victoria Park
Echuca 21.19 (145) d Seymour 6.8 (44)
While Echuca’s and Seymour’s clash was far from an instant classic, it was nonetheless a ground-breaking day within Goulburn Valley football.
Echuca took the field at Victoria Park in the competition’s first Indigenous guernsey, designed by Yorta Yorta artist Clive Atkinson.
After a pre-match ceremony including a smoking ceremony from Uncle Col Walker and a performance from an Indigenous dance group, Echuca dominated its opponent to take an easy win.
Tim Allan and mid-season recruit Ben McGlynn both kicked four, with defender Cam Valentine named the best for the bottle green.
Jason Cole continued his incredible season, once again named the best for the Lions.
Echuca co-coach Simon Maddox said he was excited to get a win over a potential finals side.
“Seymour were in finals contention going into this game, they were still well and truly in the hunt and had a lot to play for, so to be able to respond to them in the way we did is fantastic.”
Mooroopna v Euroa
Round 15, 2013 at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve
Mooroopna 10.16 (76) d Euroa 10.13 (73)
Seven goals from Dan Lewis helped Mooroopna claim a thrilling three-point win against Euroa in 2013.
Lewis, who kicked 28 goals for the Cats that season, kicked a quarter of those goals against the Magpies to steer his side to a grinding win, one of their nine wins for the campaign.
An arm-wrestle all day, there was never more than four points between the sides at any break, with three goals apiece for Brad Gleeson and Luke Hyatt keeping the Magpies right in the contest.
Mooroopna standouts - along with clear best-on-ground Lewis - were Mitch Keddell, James Marks and Bayden Fallon, while Tyson Biffin and Craig Bamford impressed for Euroa.
Cats coach Blake Campbell labelled it a big win for his club.
“Euroa is a good side, they’ve got some good players. They’re probably not your star-studded line-up, but they’ve got a lot of good honest players,” he said.
Kyabram v Mansfield
Round seven, 2015 at Kyabram Recreation Reserve
Kyabram 7.11 (53) lt Mansfield 10.5 (65)
Despite having three more scoring shots for the match, Kyabram’s inaccuracy cost it victory in this clash against Mansfield in 2015.
The Eagles were scoreless in the first term before piling on 6.3 to 1.6 in the second stanza to blow the game wide open – eventually holding on for an eight-point triumph.
Dale Ayres booted four majors for Mansfield as Adam Boshevski dominated proceedings.
Jason Morgan and Axel Childs were Kyabram’s best.
“We were drastically running out of legs in that final term and they were coming home hard, but we managed to slow up the game and hold on for a really good win,” Mansfield coach Simon Dolling said.
“We had 21 play their role for us today. Our bottom six or seven really stood up and took the work rate off the others which was really impressive to see.”
Shepparton United v Tatura
Round 11, 2016 at Tatura Park
Tatura 13.11 (89) d Shepparton United 12.11 (83)
Glance back to the middle of the 2016 season and you will find a rollicking contest between these two clubs as they fought at Tatura Park.
Scores were locked on 21 points apiece after the opening term, but it was the home side that surged ahead in the second quarter with a five-goal term.
United needed a big second half effort to close its 20-point margin, which it did thanks to strong efforts from Ryan Butler and Ryan Normington.
Jack Starcevich booted three goals, while Daniel Bowles chimed in with two, as United closed the gap to two points at the final break.
It was a tense final term, but Tatura’s young guns Michael Archer (three goals) and Sam Martin (two) kicked a goal each in the final minutes of the match to seal their side a six-point victory.
Better players on the day for the Bulldogs were James Wall (three goals) and Tim Lanyon.
Benalla v Shepparton
Round eight, 2018 at Benalla Showgrounds
Benalla 14.15 (99) d Shepparton 11.9 (75)
This match was a serious case of winning the battle, but losing the war.
Putting their respective premiership credentials on the line in an early season clash, Benalla held off a fast-finishing Shepparton to run out a 24-point winner.
But while the four points were handy for Benalla at the time - it gained a one-match buffer ahead of third place - it was Shepparton that would eventually claim gold in the form of the premiership.
Benalla controlled the match for most of the day, using the 45 minutes after quarter-time to rally a strong lead, before Shepparton showed how quickly a game can turn, cutting a six-goal lead down to 10 points in 15 minutes.
The Saints got the better of the Bears in the final term and held on for the win, with coach Luke Morgan happy with his team's effort.
“They’re (Shepparton) a competitive side and it was good to get a win against a side that’s towards the top end of the ladder,” Morgan said.
Saints spearheads Brody Webster and Nick Warnock finished with nine goals between them, while the Martyn brothers - James and Sam - starred.
Shepparton’s Nik Rokahr was impressive in his 100th game, while Anthony Andronaco courted the Bears’ forward line with three.
And in added appeal, seeing Rokahr and Sam Martyn face off in the same match would have been a mouth-watering proposition for fans with both players tying for the Morrison Medal at season's end.