In a display of ruthless second-half football, the Swans turned a tight early contest into a procession, winning 24.8 (152) to 9.5 (59).
Euroa took it right up to the ladder-leaders early, leading by a point at quarter-time and looking up for the challenge. But from then on it was all Swans.
“We thought we were going to be in for a really tough day, they were awesome early,” Swans coach Jedd Wright said.
“But we stuck to our guns pretty well, opened up the forward line with a bit of space and then the boys went to work.”
The midfield battle swung dramatically after quarter-time, with the Swans seizing momentum and delivering relentless forward pressure.
Their ability to open the game up and find clean inside 50 entries proved too much for the Magpies to handle.
“They really congested the stoppages well early and worked back into our forward line,” Wright said.
“We didn’t kick overly great in that first quarter, but after that we opened it up and our key forwards got on the end of a few.”
Key forwards Steele Simpson and James Auld were simply unstoppable, combining for 13 goals in a devastating performance.
“Probably a bit of both,” Wright said when asked if it was down to their brilliance or the midfield supply.
“I thought our midfield was really, really strong, got on top in there, and once we got a bit of space in the forward 50 the delivery was good. But Steele and James were fantastic up there.”
The Swans put the foot down in the last quarter, piling on 10 goals to one to ram home the advantage.
“At three-quarter time the game was probably done,” Wright said.
“But the boys are really hungry for success. Once they got on top in the middle of the ground the forwards were hungry for goals and the mids continued to dominate.”
While Simpson and Auld will rightfully grab the headlines, Wright was quick to praise an unsung hero in the back half.
“Lucas Rachele off half-back – I thought it was probably one of the best games he’s played,” Wright said.
“He was really strong over the ball, didn’t lose a one-on-one. He was fantastic and our back six or seven were super tight. They probably go unrecognised most weeks, but they’re probably the strength of our team really.”
The victory lifts Shepparton Swans to 6-0 and leaves them second on percentage only to Kyabram.
Attention now turns to a local derby against Shepparton United this weekend, a game that Wright insists the Swans won’t take lightly.
“Not much changes for us regardless of who we play now,” Wright said.
“We’ve got a really good, strong squad, our seconds are going really well too, so probably won’t be too many changes. We’re really looking forward to getting stuck into it. Whenever you play United or the Bears it doesn’t really matter where anyone is on the ladder, it’s always going to be a really tough game.”
