The Bears have been the standout outfit in the Goulburn Valley League so far this campaign, chalking up 15 wins and only a single defeat across the season to put them in pole position to claim the minor premiership.
With two fixtures remaining in the league before the end of August - against last year’s grand finalists Kyabram and Rochester, no less - the current pacesetters will be eager to put down a marker during the business end of the term.
Of course, Echuca remain hot on their tails in second place and trail Shepparton by just four points in the current table but both sides have now guaranteed a top-two spot to emerge as the favourites for the ultimate Hastie Cup crown.
Alongside minor premiership glory, two wins in the final couple of games would guarantee a direct bye for the opening weekend - meaning Shepparton would automatically advance to the second semi-final.
For now, Bears co-coach Wells is eager to ensure that his troops remain on task in the last couple of games before the opening week of the finals series gets under way in less than a month’s time.
Speaking after his stars dispatched of Benalla in an emphatic 68-point victory in round 16, he laid out the objectives for his players as they chase a potential first GVL premiership since 2018.
“We’ve been pretty good these last five, our last bye was seven weeks ago, ” Wells said ahead of a bye week.
“Our last bye was nearly seven weeks ago now and we had one night of training through the week with some player-led sessions.
“We said all along we wanted to get through to this stage and, although we probably locked-in top-two last week, we’re continuing to train hard this next month.
“Whether that’ll have an effect on our footy remains to be seen.”
With captain Mitch Brett and playing coach Xavier Stevenson having been ruled out for the Saints game in week 16, Wells expressed his hope that the pair will be able to return to action in the coming month.
“Hopefully we’ll have a few players back (from injury) in the next month and we’ll be able to get some minutes into their legs,” he said.
After leadership duo Brett and Stevenson having missed the clash against Benalla, Wells acknowledged that they both have a major role to play during the remainder of the campaign in providing guidance to his young camp.
“We’re a young group, our average age is 22 to 23, with the average games per player about 50,” Wells said.
“So the more that we can stay together, hopefully, we’ll be able to stick together this year and the year after that.”
Following a break, the Bears will return to the field away at Kyabram on August 15, before their final league clash at home versus Rochester on August 22.
