In front of AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon, who was in attendance as a guest speaker at the Redlegs’ president’s luncheon, Jordan Formosa’s troops claimed a spirited 12.5 (77) to 9.10 (64) over the Eagles to hand the visitors their second loss of the year.
“It was a really good game, tough (and) competitive,” Formosa said.
“Shepp East are obviously a very good opponent, high up on the ladder, so it was good for us to put a good performance in against a very good team and we got the chocolates in the end, which is great for our season.”
It was a performance that could perhaps define Longwood’s run towards finals, having shown a tremendous amount of resolve to fend off one of the best sides in the competition under enormous pressure in the final term.
Speaking after the dust had settled on Sunday, Formosa heralded the scalp as a turning point for the Redlegs.
“Yesterday was obviously a big breakthrough to beat a top three team, we haven’t been able to quite do that (previously),” he said.
“We went close against Lancaster last year, but we fell short, and this year against the other top two teams we got a bit of a touch up again, so yesterday was really good for our growth to prove that we can compete against those top teams.
“It fell our way, but we played well for the whole day, that was probably the most (pleasing) thing about the whole performance, that we put four quarters together and, when we do that, we’re capable of beating any team.”
The Redlegs had nudged ahead at the quarter-time siren after an evenly matched first term, taking a 4.2 (26) to 4.1 (25) lead into the first break, but the decisive move came in the second, as they created what ultimately turned out to be a match-winning advantage.
While putting three goals on the board, Longwood kept Shepparton East to four behinds in the second quarter, as it turned a one-point lead into a 17-point margin by half-time.
As any good team does, however, the Eagles responded after the main break, trimming the margin back to single figures by three-quarter time, having kicked 3.3 for the term to trail by nine points and head into the final quarter with all of the momentum.
But a steely three-goal-to-two final term had Longwood win by an eventual 13 points, having been urged on by Formosa at the final break to make the most of the moment.
“(The message was) just to have a bit of belief and have fun with the opportunity of beating a good team,” he said.
“We’ve been building that for a while, to have an opportunity to win (against a top side), so (the message was) not to be scared of the opportunity to go out there and win the game by ourselves and have fun doing it with each other.
“Everything we trained for in pre-season set us up for having an opportunity like that, go out there and take it, don’t be afraid of the moment.”
Thousand-goal Northern Football League and Heidelberg legend Shane Harvey booted an equal game-high four goals, while Jye Formosa was named best-on-ground in the victory, which has the Redlegs end the round in fifth spot ahead of Rushworth and Avenel in sixth and seventh, with both of those sides snapping at Longwood’s heels following wins at the weekend.
Rushworth overcame a slow start at Ironbark Stadium to account for Stanhope, clinching a 13.16 (94) to 12.7 (79) victory despite trailing by 11 points at half-time, while Avenel proved too strong for Girgarre, kicking away in the second half to record a 14.17 (101) to 12.9 (81) win at Avenel Recreation Reserve.
Elsewhere, Lancaster flexed its muscle against Nagambie, handing the Lakers an 18.10 (118) to 9.5 (59) hiding at Nagambie Recreation Reserve, Murchison-Toolamba beat Tallygaroopna 18.14 (122) to 4.6 (30) away from home and Undera clinched a 10.8 (68) to 8.8 (56) victory over Merrigum.
