After suffering a rare defeat to Echuca in round eight, the Bears rallied back to form with a win away at Mansfield to set up a compelling clash at Euroa Memorial Ground in round 10.
A blistering opening quarter laid the foundations for the win, with the visitors piling on 6.1 (37) while restricting the Magpies to just 1.1 (7) to establish a five-goal buffer at the first change.
Euroa battled hard through the second term, led by the efforts of Jett Trotter and Zac Gleeson but Shepparton continued to find answers at every turn in a relentless statement performance.
Luke Smith, Angus Williams and Ashley Holland provided the goals to as the Bears extended their advantage to 45 points by half-time, effectively putting the contest beyond doubt.
The third quarter was more cagey as scoring opportunities dried up, but Shepparton remained firmly in control as Euroa managed just one goal for the term while Luke Smith added another major for the Bears, who entered the final change leading by 38 points.
Any hopes of a late Euroa revival were quickly extinguished as Shepparton slammed on five final-quarter goals to run away with a comprehensive 15.9 (99) to 5.8 (38) triumph.
Jacob Watts booted two goals in the final term, while Xavier Stevenson and Zac Metcalf also found the scoreboard as the Bears finished strongly.
Smith was clinical in his execution in the visitors’ forward line, leading the way in attack with four goals, while Lincoln Brand and Watts contributed two apiece.
Liam Broom, Ashley Holland, Lewis McShane, Metcalf, Stevenson, Liam Teague and Angus Williams all chipped in with singles too as the title chasers showcased depth in front of goal.
Aside from successive victories in May, the hosts on the day have struggled for consistency, with this defeat leaving them languishing second-from-bottom in the standings.
“We’ve been able to rectify a bit around our contest, that was where it was probably where it was won and lost,” co-coach Xavier Stevenson said, outlining the key to the victory.
“Due to the conditions, that is how things needed to be - we’re obviously really pleased with the result but we still felt like there was a couple of key areas in terms of our pressure game where we could’ve been better.
“That’s probably why we started strong and then dropped away for a quarter and a half, the scoreboard probably showed that but we were able to improve that after three-quarter time.
“Our game is based around pressure and contests so when we get that right, we’re a good football team.
“You always want to start well away from home and I’ve got a lot of respect for Euroa - they have a lot of good individuals and they’re hard to play against.
“It helped set the game up from there and to control the football more and trial a few different things in terms of our game style.”
The Bears helmsman also earmarked the impressive Smith following his exploits in front of goal again en route to victory.
“Luke’s form just continues to roll on, he’s a fantastic footballer but his consistency is also amazing,” Stevenson said.
“Sometimes we can understate how good he is week-to-week and this game was probably another day where he’s had some really high numbers in terms of disposal, his contests and pressure numbers too.
“Then he ends up kicking four goals so he had a pretty complete game and the even spread of goal-kickers is a real positive for us.
“It was really nice to see that spread across the board.”
The result at Euroa saw Shepparton remain at the GVL ladder summit, heading into a home match-up against winless Tatura in round 11, as the Magpies face off against the Shepparton Swans at Princess Park next time out.
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