It was a celebratory afternoon for Dylan Nexhip and his Shepparton Swans side as they clinched a gritty 45-37 win against Rochester at Moon Oval on Saturday.
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The round five Goulburn Valley League netball win for the Swans was their fourth straight, propelling them six points clear of the fifth-placed Kyabram.
Jana Bruinier was a standout at centre for the Swans and she was well assisted by Liv Mason in attack and Kristy Down in defence.
‘‘Definitely, it’s nice to have the breathing space early on in the season, but we still have plenty of things to work on,’’ Swans coach Nexhip said.
‘‘It was the result that we wanted, it’s always nice to come away from Rochester with the four points.
‘‘I thought we could have just stretched the lead a bit more in the final term, they pegged us back a little bit.’’
The game began in a stalemate, with both sides trading blows and Rochester’s Ellie Cuttriss shining in the midcourt.
At the first break the margin was just one goal, but in the second term the Swans fired away to shoot 19 goals and left the Tigers reeling 10 goals behind at the main break.
Down was the main instigator for shutting down on Rochester’s forward movement as the home side scored five goals in the third.
The Swans let slip of their hold on the contest, enabling Rochester to score heavily in the final term, with Morgan Dingwall playing a pivotal role in the 15 goals her side shot.
‘‘We made some changes in the last and they cut back the margin,’’ Nexhip said.
‘‘But I thought our ball movement was really good, especially Jana (Bruinier) in the centre position and it helped open up our shooters, where Liv (Mason) did a great job.
‘‘We executed our full-court team defensive pressure and it allowed for turnovers in our attacking third, which set up our scoring the second and third quarters.’’
Rochester sits in sixth spot, with two points up its sleeve on seventh-placed Mansfield ahead of taking on unbeaten ladder leader Shepparton United next week.
The Swans will welcome the league’s other undefeated side, reigning premier Echuca, to Princess Park.
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