Gallery | Echuca staves off late Shepparton charge to win Goulburn Valley League grand final rematch

The Murray Bombers co-coach spoke about squashing the outside noise, chatter that rendered his charges less feared than they perhaps should be.

And after Echuca knocked down the Bears 15.9 (109) to 11.10 (76), it’s clear the green machine is greased up and going like the clappers.

Shepparton rivalled Echuca throughout the opening quarter and looked for all money like coming close in the last, but the distance established by the Murray Bombers in the first half paired with a late salvo saw them retain an unbeaten streak and a 5-0 record.

“In patches we were really good - some of our good stuff was really, really good,” Maddox said.

“We probably didn't put them to the sword in the first half. I thought we had all the play and I thought we should have been further in front at half time.

“But to Shepp’s credit, like good sides do, they came roaring back and got back within 12 or 14 points in the last quarter.

“So just to steady the ship there in the second half of the last quarter and get the result was good.”

Echuca began with forceful impact, booting the game’s first two majors as Jackson Stewart and Liam Tenace hit the scoreboard early.

Shepparton, missing star ruck Ash Holland, nailed its first via an expertly taken Lewis McShane goal on the swivel, but 10 seconds after the bounce, the ball went all the way to Echuca big man Kane Morris on the line who couldn’t miss.

The crazy sequence continued, Shepparton scoring straight from the bounce again as youngster Sam O’Brien marked his senior debut with a memorable goal and a later Luke Smith effort pushed the Bears ahead by a point.

Tenace, showing plenty of tenacity, pulled off a superb diving mark to get Echuca rolling five minutes into the second term - but his game wouldn’t last much longer as a dislocated finger forced him off the field and to hospital for treatment.

Would it hurt Echuca’s chances? At that point, it didn’t appear so.

The Murray Bombers went two goals ahead with a pair of Mitch Bell efforts, and despite O’Brien adding another to his name late in the half, the visitors had 18 points on Shepparton.

A third quarter that threatened to peter out was revived by Smith, his rocket from the pocket 50 metres out stirring the Bears from a slumber.

That was short-lived, though, as Mitch Wales boomed one through to keep the Bears at bay before an absurd snap with no angle to play crashed through off Hugh Byrne’s boot.

Future draft prospect Cody Walker got in on the action early in the fourth quarter before the Bears bit back hard, dragging the margin within two goals to elicit groans from the green section of Deakin.

Cue Byrne to restart the Murray Bombers’ fire.

The barrelling tall forward produced another eye of the needle goal, following it up with a brutish fend off, spin and bomb in between Jack McHale’s charge through the corridor, attacking, intercepting and roosting from outside 50.

It rounded out an exciting final term, and though Maddox said Shepparton did hit its straps when rolling the dice, his side’s full ground press in the first half solidified Echuca’s status as a premiership favourite once again.

“We came in pretty motivated and fired up - we haven't done too much wrong ourselves this year and a few people told me that Shepp and Ky are the sides to beat,” he said.

“We've got a fair few injuries across all our grades and the young boys that have come up from the thirds last year, they've done an amazing job.

“We can have seven or eight guys that are under 10 games of senior footy. They're learning and they’re going to be a lot better at the end of the year.

“When we get all the troops back, we’ll be there when the whips are cracking. We wanted to make a bit of a statement today: hey, don’t forget about us either.”