Tatura’s Liam Scopelliti and Shepparton’s Oscar Lambourn thunder after the footy.
Photo by
Holly Daniel
Shepparton had plenty of frustration in front of goal at the weekend, but its star midfielder-forward made the most of his time in attack with a towering tally.
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Energetic and electric Bear Luke Smith strolled off Tatura Park with a smile blasting and well-ruffled hair following a ballistic goal spree.
His tally of eight was the equal second most in a Goulburn Valley League game this season, behind Benalla’s Nathan Wright, who kicked nine against Mooroopna in round 10.
Shepparton travelled to take on bottom-of-the-ladder Tatura on Saturday afternoon for round 12.
A one-sided mauling was predicted by most pundits heading into the clash, however, while one side was fighting for pride and the other was on the hunt for grand final redemption, the first quarter was a genuine arm wrestle as the Bears struggled to bury the Dogs.
At quarter-time, albeit with a wayward Shepparton, the scores sat tied at 3.0 (18) to 2.6 (18).
After a stop-start season, Bears co-coaches Ted Lindon and Xavier Stevenson must have lit the fuse at the first break as Shepparton attacked Tatura with unadulterated fury in the second term.
The Bears — again inaccurate — piled on 15 second-quarter shots to the Bulldogs’ one goal.
Shepparton doubled down across the final two quarters booting 7.5 and 5.6 to run out a 105-point victor, 6.1 (37) to 19.27 (141).
Smith’s eye-watering total of eight was split across the four quarters, with the wily goal bandit booting one in the first, three in the second, three in the third and one in the last.
Alongside Smith’s Herculean haul for the Bears were multiple goal-kickers Lewis McShane (three), Liam Duguid and Mitch Brett (two).
Reliable Tatura star Michael Archer was his side’s lone multiple goal-kicker as he contributed two to the score sheet.
Next up for host Tatura is a clash at home against an in-form Mansfield, while Shepparton returns to Deakin Reserve to take on a Benalla side it beat by 87 points in round two.
Shepparton will be hoping its next four fixtures against bottom five sides Benalla, Euroa, Shepparton United and Mooroopna will guarantee the Bears an early finals qualification following a tough run of five consecutive losses mid-season.
The Bears sit in sixth spot on the ladder, one win and one game clear of seventh-placed Seymour.
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