Gallery: Herbert has ‘a big presence’ in Shepparton’s thrilling win over Swans

Herbert marked 45m out from goal on a tough angle and kicked truly, his fifth and final major of the match, to put his outfit in front in the round 17 encounter.

Herbert, who broke Tatura hearts in round 10 with a post-siren stunner, finished the game with 19 disposals, eight marks and 10 score involvements.

Shepparton co-coach Xavier Stevenson was full of praise for his side’s best-afield performer in the wash-up of the win.

“He kicked the winner with a minute left actually, he’s proving to be quite the game winner,” Stevenson said.

“He was best afield for us, he had a ripping game. His marking and aerial presence yesterday was first-class, he was able to finish it off as well with five goals ― he had a big presence in the game.

“This year he’s been such a valuable addition to the side, just in terms of his leadership, his buy-in to the team and his experience to the rest of the group, it’s been great to watch.”

Stevenson said the game ebbed and flowed across the duration of the four quarters and despite the Bears having the upper hand to start the match the Swans fired back after the main break.

Both sides showcased their running and quick game styles, with the Swans’ six-goal third term a highlight of the afternoon.

The Bears managed to boot “a couple of late goals” in the third term to “halt the momentum” with two first-year additions the standouts in the quarter.

Tyron Baden had 11 disposals and kicked two goals, while Adam De Cicco tallied 12 touches for the quarter.

De Cicco went on to finish with 30 disposals and an incredible 16 tackles, while Baden notched 26 touches and seven clearances in a sublime outing.

Swans’ Nathan Rachele registered his best outing of the year with 21 disposals, eight tackles and four goals.

Teammates Zac Clohesy and defender Enrique Goggin provided strong support in the three-point defeat.

“Always really happy to get a win, especially this year when games have been challenging. It was a pretty tight contest all day,” Stevenson said.

“We were lucky to be in front at the end when it mattered.

“We felt like we had the game on our terms in the first half, but we just couldn’t capitalise enough and we weren’t efficient enough going forward.

“The fourth was a bit of an arm wrestle, it was a bit of an unusual game to be honest, there were heaps of momentum swings, heaps of pressure and it was played between the arcs throughout the game.

“All individuals had moments where they impacted.

“Tyron was really able to step up in the third, he kicked two goals, had 10 or 11 touches, and helped to stem the momentum which was super pleasing.”

Stevenson added that one of the most pleasing aspects of the win was Shepparton’s courage and heart to fight it out until the end.

The Bears were down to one rotation in the final quarter, with injuries to Zaydan Leocata (knee), Tyler Bell (back) and Jhett Cooper (wrist) impacting the bench.

“It was really positive from a young list to stop that run of momentum and grind it out. I’m not sure we would have done that 12 months ago,” Stevenson said.

“We’ve been the stronger team out of that bottom six, we’re really looking to challenge Seymour this weekend, we know our best is really good enough and we showed that against Kyabram. Hopefully we can end the year on a high.”