Gallery | Shepparton United trounces rival to book a spot in Goulburn Murray Women’s grand final

Leading into Sunday’s semi-final against Mansfield, United’s two previous wins were by 81 and 119 points, respectively.

During Mansfield’s debut season, the Eagles and United quickly formed a rivalry, with their two home and away fixtures being fiercely contested.

In round three, Mansfield claimed the bragging rights with a four-point win at home over United.

Two months later, in round 10, the two teams couldn’t be split as the Demons and the Eagles finished on 34 apiece.

However, these two matches were just the entrée before Sunday’s main course, with the winner booking a spot in the 2024 grand final.

The semi-final was played at Tatura Park and United got the upper hand early.

The Demons got the first goal of the day thanks to Michela Kearney, but the Eagles soon fired back as star Mim Davidson booted her 17th goal of the season.

At quarter-time, United led by eight points (6-14).

One goal in the second term to young gun forward Payten Johnston gave Shepparton United a 14-point lead at the main break.

After half-time, the Demons never looked back, kicking 4.3 to a scoreless second-half Eagles’ side.

The result finished 1.0 (6) to 7.5 (47).

Johnston finished the day with three majors, while Molly Kennedy kicked two and was best on ground for her side.

After two close encounters with Mansfield earlier in the season, United coach Grant Searle said full availability in his squad was one reason the Demons were able to overcome the Eagles the third time around.

“I thought we played very well,” Searle said.

“Everyone played their role and played it to perfection.

“When (Mansfield) beat us, we were once again very low on numbers and were still building throughout the year.

“This weekend just gone, we had a full squad — every player was available.

“We executed our game plan and the girls did it very well and got the rewards that they deserved.”

Reigning premier Echuca has also secured a spot in the women’s grand final after it defeated Nathalia.

Echuca’s Katie Pollock and star captain Paige Baksh kicked the goals for the Murray Bombers, with the final score finishing 2.2 (14) to 0.2 (2).

With grand final week under way, the feeling of excitement and nervous energy at United is growing day upon day.

Searle said although it was a great time for the club, he and his players would treat their preparation like any other week of football.

“We don’t want to steer away from what has been working and what we have been doing every other week,” he said.

“It is a matter of just making sure we are ready to go.

“There is a lot of hype about having both sides in the grand final, but we don’t want to detract from the fact that we have a big game in front of us and we still have a lot of work to do to get the job done.”

Despite the match being located in Shepparton, Echuca will head into the grand final as favourite, having only lost two of its 15 games this season — the Murray Bombers’ first loss of the season was in round six against United.

Echuca has played in the past two season deciders, winning last year’s match against Nathalia by eight points.

Searle said his players know they must be at their best to knock off the Murray Bombers.

“They are the reigning premiers, so they are very experienced with grand final day and what they have to do to perform at their best,” he said.

“We are coming in as the underdogs.

“We are well aware that they are a very experienced team; they deserve the premiership rights from last year, and we will have to play our best game to overcome that.

“I think it will be a cracking game.”

The women’s grand final will be held at Deakin Reserve at 2pm on Sunday.