The reigning premier held a thin lead for most of the first half which grew after the main break, but was forced to stave off a hearty Roos reply late.
Shepparton East co-coach Kate Durling was elated with the 37-36 triumph which lands the Eagles back inside the top six after a previous loss to Lancaster.
“Especially coming off a big loss against Lancy the week before, we were hoping to get over the line this week to lift our spirits back up,” she said.
“Last week, as you saw the scoreline, was pretty disappointing. (We won) by one, but we just take the four points really.
“It was pretty close all game to be honest. There was a little bit of a margin in the third quarter, but they pegged us back in the last.
“I don’t think at any given time you could pick a winner, so it was a tight match throughout the whole game.”
When push came to shove, the efforts at either end of the court pushed East over the line.
Durling said her two focal points in attack and in defence were key to unlocking Girgarre and grasping on to a one-goal victory.
“Lauren Keady was a big standout as our goal keeper. She played on their tall goal shooter who was a dominant force in their attack end, so she did really well,” she said.
“And Maddy Newey, she shot really well and was very accurate, so she is probably my second best.”
The only blip on Shepparton East’s radar is a heavy round two loss to Lancaster, but Durling isn’t panicking yet.
In fact, she framed the early test as a learning experience.
“I’m happy with 2-1, I don’t mind a loss this early on in the season just because it helps you work on things that may not have been working,” she said.
“And having new coaches, myself and Bianca (Kelly), you’re sort of trying to iron out everything at the start of the season — so 2-1 I’m quite happy with.”
Elsewhere, Lancaster’s 67-goal win against winless Rushworth has catapulted it to equal top, its 82-15 result coming on the back of 50 goals from gun recruit Chicquita Vick.
Vick even spent part of the third term in the centre as winger Jadeja Davies shot 10 goals in the third term in the slowest of the Wombats’ four-quarter effort.
Lancaster finished last season in 11th position on the ladder, clearly better than the bottom three teams in the competition, but three wins and percentage off the face from being a finalist.
In other games, Avenel secured a crucial two-goal triumph over Tallygaroopna, while Dookie United saw off Stanhope 53-36.
Nagambie belted Longwood by 45 goals, Violet Town made it three on the bounce by beating Undera 60-46 and the result between Merrigum and Murchison-Toolamba was not available by print deadline.
