2019 FINISH: FOURTH (13-7)
If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
Spurred on by a promising season where only a lack of killer instinct marred the Bears’ path to a grand final, coach Tracey Brereton has placed faith in last year’s core to echo 2019’s consistency during the home and away fixtures.
Hoping the new decade will bear a premiership during her 13th year in charge, Brereton expects her playing group to have a spot reserved in the top three once the competition comes to the crunch in spring.
“We dug deep during a lot of games last year, if a few results went our way it could have been a different story,” she said.
“At the end of the day as long as you make finals in this competition you have a chance of playing in the grand final.”
Shepparton has lost resources in all thirds of the court, with wily goaler Laura Scott, midcourter Kate Durling and defensive pillar Ash Bradley among those not putting on the maroon dress for 2020.
But in gaining Erin Scott through elevation from B-grade, the Bears will be shifting focus to producing more polished performances with its present company to convert narrow defeats into winning margins.
“Even though we have lost a few I am still confident we will have a really strong team this year,” Brereton said.
“We have to get better in moments that count – the bottom line for the group is to finish off key plays; if we can do that, then we turn one or two-goal losses into wins."
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