Mansfield sits level with the Murray Bombers for most 100-plus point games following the Eagles’ six-goal beating of Euroa at the weekend and, boy, did it send a message to the rest of the league’s finals contenders.
At quarter-time it was anyone’s game.
By three quarter time, Euroa still had a chance.
Yet, the 15.13 (103) to 9.14 (68) final score paints an ugly picture for 2023 preliminary finalist Euroa, which never really got going in the much-awaited round eight tie at Memorial Oval.
Onlookers sat tight in their seats, ready for the battle: Euroa’s stacked midfield against Mansfield’s supercharged forward line and it was the former to strike first on home soil.
GVL interleague representative Max Gleeson slotted the first major of the game midway through the first term, triggering a shower of goals that had Euroa edge ahead by four points.
The end of the second quarter was when Mansfield struck paydirt, drilling four goals in as many minutes to turn a three-point deficit into a 21-point lead and suck the wind out of the Magpies’ sails.
It was a blow from which Euroa never truly recovered.
Playing catch-up proved too tricky throughout the third term as Ryan Pendlebury’s charges were only able to keep pace with the visitors, and if the second quarter blitz dazed the Magpies, out came the haymaker in the fourth quarter.
Mansfield’s five-goal barrage only compounded Euroa’s growing woes and stifled any whispers of a turnaround, pushing the Magpies outside of finals contention while lifting itself into third.
What’s more, the Eagles did this all without 24-goal forward Ben Christopher.
Instead, Nathan Buchanan took point as Mansfield’s key sharpshooter with a game-high four goals alongside teammate Billy Hogan.
Both forwards earned top marks on the day, while Euroa star Will Hayes (two goals) reeled off another classic display despite the result.
