Mansfield’s clash with Shepparton at Deakin Reserve on Saturday was a match you could not look away from.
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While a hot start from the Bears made the round 17 contest look to be over before it even got going, the Eagles ensured it became one of the most gripping games of the Goulburn Valley League season.
There was a finals-like intensity from the outset, but it was to be expected given the potential early September preview between two clubs locked into a top-six position.
As the heat ramped up around the ball, it was the Bears who withstood the fire initially, sparked off the back of an influential start from youngster Jake Watts.
Watts’ one of many early disposals was a centimetre perfect kick inside 50 to Zac Metcalf in the forward pocket and, although Metcalf bellied the snap on goal, it landed in the lap of Trent Herbert who went back and kicked truly.
An errant kick-in caused a defensive 50 turnover, leading to another converted set shot for the Bears, this time through Lewis McShane, before a contentious not-15m call caused the Eagles’ defence to crumble in its back half again.
Following the play on signal, a poor handball placed the football on the deck, to which Watts extracted the contested pill against two Mansfield opponents, spinning out of traffic and handing off to Luke Smith who ran by and kicked Shepparton’s third.
Smith kicked the next goal too and a turn to the scoreboard saw that the Bears had roared to a 27-point head start.
A passage of undisciplined football from Shepparton gifted Mansfield its first major before a chase down tackle from the centre bounce quickly turned one into two, providing the Eagles with a sniff of momentum before the first break in play.
However, a goal after the quarter time siren from Herbert extended Shepparton’s lead back out to over three goals.
Mansfield playing coach Jack Hutchins didn’t panic though, holding faith in his side after its clinical display against Kyabram the week prior.
“We were just a tad off around the contest,” Hutchins said.
“We didn't really make any positioning changes, it was more just get back to winning the footy and keeping honest.
“We knew they were a good side and we spoke about it before the game that we wanted to keep riding that energy, because our first 15 minutes against Kyabram were probably the best we've played and we sort of wanted to keep that.
“We just wanted to get back to putting on pressure and I think post quarter-time, our forward half pressure was probably the most pleasing thing.
“It created turnover and created time in our forward half and created entries.”
Mansfield would forge its comeback in the second term, with an early inside 50 pounced on by Sam Thomson, before the travelling Eagles crowd roared as Matthew King nailed a set shot from outside the cusp of the arc.
Shepparton was held goalless in the second term, but remained defensively solid to hold a 10-point half-time advantage, but the third quarter is when the dam wall began to crack.
Will Hogan and King combined for four of the next five Mansfield goals, including four in an eight-minute stretch that all of a sudden placed the Bears on the back foot.
As the lead grew beyond three goals in the Eagles’ favour, Shepparton finally made its response, with a brilliant banana from the pocket by Xavier Lewis followed by Herbert nailing his third, marking a five-point deficit for the Bears to overcome at three-quarter time.
With the match already running at finals intensity, the pressure still managed to go up a notch in the final term with the game on the line.
No club could break the quarter’s goalless deadlock for 13 minutes before Hogan slotted a steadying shot for Mansfield.
Herbert kicked a fourth with a stunning over-the-shoulder snap in a contested forward line, but Mansfield’s Nick Gray matched that effort two minutes later.
A spectacular leap from Ben Christopher and converted set shot sealed the deal for the Eagles, claiming third place on the ladder with a 13.4 (82) to 9.13 (67) win.
The Bears are left to rue wasted opportunities in front of goal, including three posters in the second half that could have ultimately changed the result in their favour.
Mansfield’s form is peaking at the right time though and, with a final round encounter with Benalla, a top-three finish should be all but sewn up unless the Saints produce a boilover.
Hutchins stated the past fortnight of gritty results against premiership contenders Kyabram and Shepparton had allowed the group to learn about how it stacked up amongst the competition’s best, providing valuable belief that it can go the journey in September.
“You take a hard-fought win where things aren't going right for that reason, as opposed to sort of dominating and winning by 10 goals,” Hutchins said.
“We learn a lot more and I think our season's kind of grown on the back of that, just finding things out each game.
“And we've just been developing really well to the point where our best footy is being played at the right time of year.”