Mansfield has leap-frogged inside the Goulburn Valley League top six after a gritty 34-point win over an inaccurate Shepparton Swans on Saturday.
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The Eagles were let off in the round-11 encounter at Princess Park, as the home side struggled to convert their early chances.
The visitors held a 19-point lead at the last break despite the Swans - who had kicked 4.13 - having one extra scoring shot.
As expected, players on both sides struggled to adjust to match conditions after the month-long hiatus - caused by the COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria.
However, Mansfield was able to break the shackles in the final term to seal the 12.15 (87) to 6.17 (53) victory.
Mansfield's crop of merging talent, led by Harry Mahoney (two goals) and Will Foster (two), starred across half forward, while teammates Will Christopher and James Herridge were the two standouts.
Classy operator BJ Squires (one goal) found a truckload of the ball for the Swans and was their best performer, while defender Kadeyn Pogue and Willem Richardson rounded out their best players.
Mansfield coach Chad Owens was relieved after the match.
“We'll take the four points,” Owens said.
“I think their inaccurate kicking, if they kick a few more of those goals, it's a different story at three-quarter time. It's probably a draw or maybe they are in front.
“We'll back our fitness in that we'll be able to run out games - but I think they let us off the hook a few times.
“I think the best thing to come out of today is that we got the four points and we didn't get any injuries.”
Owens praised the performance of teenage talent Mahoney and defender Will Chiller.
The Eagles’ first-year mentor said Mahoney's run and speed was "really important" while Chiller "stood up down back".
Owens highlighted the one area that his side failed to get right in a game that will be left in the rear vision mirror.
“Just our set ups being too slow, we were just too slow getting into position,” he said.
“If we get that right we can get our running game going. We did it in patches but just not enough.
“We have got a lot to build on from that (game). We'll move on pretty quickly and look towards Seymour next week.”
The win helps improve Mansfield's record to four-three and it now sits in fifth spot on 16 points, while for the Swans, they are locked to 11th on the ladder.
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