There’s a reason why Mansfield’s Callum Brown is the reigning Morrison medallist.
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With the Eagles under siege for back-to-back losses at home, Brown booted a bag of five in Mansfield’s round five Goulburn Valley League clash against Shepparton United despite being a midfield presence, resulting in a much-needed- 37-point victory for the visitors.
At Deakin Reserve on Saturday afternoon, the Demons would have had full belief it could topple an out-of-form Eagles side, with Mansfield losing its previous two matches to Seymour and Benalla.
But the Eagles weren’t going to stay down for much longer, and it was Brown who set the tone early.
Max Mahoney converted the first major for the Eagles before Brown hit the scoreboard for the first time to make early inroads.
United’s Jordan Haynes would secure the Demons’ first, but at the cusp of quarter time, it would be Brown to hit back, notching a 15-point lead at the first change of ends.
Two early goals from Demons Matthew Casey and Liam Serra however reduced the margin to a point in the early going of the second term, and it seemed Mansfield was on the precipice of another ugly showing.
Two minutes later though, that proved to be more than further from the truth.
Will Foster banged home the Eagles’ first of the quarter, before the clubs exchanged behinds across the next five minutes of play.
Then, Mansfield soared through the midfield and delivered pinpoint inside 50 deliveries to kick three goals in nearly as many minutes, before Brown, William Hogan, and Al Bennett contributed goals in red time to push out the lead to 42-points at the main break, capping off an unanswered seven-goal run in the quarter.
Mansfield coach Mitch Wareham stated a freshened up attack was the key behind the offensive fluency, admitting the Eagles looked “stagnant” and “stale” in its losses across the past fortnight.
“We threw some blokes around in different positions because we were a bit stale up forward,” he said.
“Without Will Kelly, our main focal point has sort of only been Hogan, so by changing it up it gave a few more guys the opportunity to be a target, which made their defenders more accountable.
“That stagnant approach was on me as much as it is the players, so we thought we’d mix things up and with Matt King, Cal Brown and Al (Bennett), they kicked 11 between them.”
That buoyant energy flowed beyond the sheds after half time, as the Eagles scored another five goals in the third term, albeit Shepparton United dug deep to kick four of its own.
Scoring tightened up in the final term, but the damage had been done, and a final Callum Brown goal put the icing on the cake for a sweet return-to-form victory for Mansfield, 11.13 (79) to 17.14 (116).
“Naturally it was good to get back on the winner’s list after a couple poor weeks,” Wareham said.
“We sort of strayed away from how we want to play and got exposed.
“We’ve just got to make sure we play the style we want to play each week and hit the ground running.”
Brown was named best afield alongside Max Mahoney and Matthew King for Mansfield, while Angus Hicks was defiant in defeat for the Demons.
The Eagles will look to continue its newfound momentum against Mooroopna at home next week, while the Demons travel to take on an unbeaten Echuca outfit.