Shepparton United has clinched a clutch victory in round three of the Goulburn Valley League season, stepping up in a neck-and-neck contest against the Shepparton Swans to deliver an 11-point victory.
The Swans came into the clash fresh off an upset win against Kyabram, but a couple of key outs had Saturday’s contest shaping as a 50-50 battle.
And for the entirety of the match, it lived up to that theory.
The Demons and Swans scored six times each in the opening term, however the Princess Park tenants’ 3.3 (21) edged out United’s 2.4 (16) to begin the clash at Deakin Reserve.
As the intensity lifted, the scoring dried up in the second term, with one goal apiece scored respectively by the Demons and Swans, but two extra behinds from Shepparton United closed the margin to three points at the main break.
Shepparton United co-coach Trent Freer stated the scrappy, pressure-filled contest meant that the Demons had yet to play its best football in the first half, and told his men to take confidence into the next hour knowing they were within a kick despite the lack of cohesive attacking fluency.
“We spoke at half time when we were down three points that we hadn’t played great footy but we were right in it,” Freer said.
“We just had to extract it and hold the ball for longer, because we never really had control for more than five minute patches."
The visitors were left to rue their third quarter, kicking just one goal but issuing five behinds on the scoreboard.
The Swans had fought to keep Shepparton United’s forward half entries to a minimum as well, but would concede two goals, their period of territory dominance left in vain.
While outscored by four shots, the Demons closed the margin again, this time to two points at the three-quarter-time break.
In a scrappy last term, the cleaner skills and opportunists would prevail, and after building momentum in the clinches, the game would open up just enough for Shepparton United to run over the top.
Jesse Cucinotta “spring-boarded” off half-back, while birthday man Kade Gibson was given the license to “extract the footy and run“, making influential plays late.
Two behinds early on levelled the ledger at 39 each, before United’s Liam Serra found the middle of the sticks.
Less than two minutes later, Swan Harper Simpson would make a reply to sew up the scores evenly again, before Demon Matthew Casey made a response of his own to hand the lead back to the red and blue.
The Swans and Demons exchanged behinds across the red time period, before Shepparton United’s Jack Supple booted the sealer, securing four pivotal premiership points for the home side in a Saturday evening thriller.
Freer put the win down to “maturity” down the stretch as his Demon veterans shone with football intelligence in the close late game scenario.
“It was a real arm wrestle all day, both sides had their chances and the pressure was high,” he said.
“It could’ve gone either way up until the last couple of minutes, but we just had a bit more maturity in our list that controlled the contest enough to come out on top in the end.”
Both clubs hold 2-1 records for the 2026 campaign, and will look to break into top six contention with round four wins next week.
Shepparton Swans will return to Deakin Reserve to take on the Bears, while Shepparton United will play Mooroopna at the Cats’ home deck.
“I think it’ll be a really good hit out, they like to link up and spread across the ground, so we’ll have to be on our game defensively and push up with pressure in their face a bit,” Freer said.
“But we’ll want to test them with our fire power as well and use our spread too, so it’ll be a good match-up.”
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