The Bears got the worthy Goulburn Valley League contest they deserved — and very nearly copped more than they could handle on a picturesque trip south to Euroa’s Memorial Oval.
It all kicked off in much the manner you would expect as the two sides went blow for blow across the first 20 minutes, with Jack McKernan and Lewis McShane setting themselves up for strong days around the goals through an early major each.
McShane threaded through a second snag to open things up after quarter-time and, once Mitchell Brett joined the party, the visitors’ 28-point buffer was starting to look ominous indeed.
However, this is a Euroa side that has been involved in far too many close ones to be left in the dust quite like that.
A Shepparton side that was having to replace its usual dominant forces in the midfield due to injury, namely Adam De Cicco and Luke Smith, soon noticed the black and white pulling to within an uncomfortable distance through some usually unsung names of its own.
Seventeen was the number when the sides returned to their respective sheds, but another big one from Joel Brett continued to ask questions of the struggling hosts.
Ever-reliable Jett Trotter had the first of Euroa’s answers, but as the margin pushed back towards five goals courtesy of Trent Herbert and Zac Metcalf’s finishes, McKernan finally stamped his authority at the other end with a huge double to lift local spirits.
Tristan Davies popped up in yet another clutch moment just prior to the final change and dropped the margin back to 13 as the huddles took shape, with McKernan’s fourth of the day sending Memorial Oval’s faithful into raptures.
It was at that point, however, that the switch flicked for Ted Lindon’s men — for good this time.
Everything seemed to click at once when in possession and the back six seemingly found all the right holes when defending, leading to some sumptuous passages that broke the game open beyond repair.
McShane would equal McKernan up the other end with four for the day after snagging two in what became a final-quarter blitz, benefiting from one particularly damaging display of champagne football up the corridor that tore Euroa to shreds in no time flat.
What matters most, naturally, is the final score reading out a 16.17 (113) to 11.7 (73) victory for the Bears that sees them maintain the pace with Echuca in a shootout for the minor premiership with both sides at 15-1.
Lindon was under no illusions about the adversity his side faced post-match, though.
“It was always going to be a hard-fought game,” Lindon said.
“Both times we’ve played this year, it’s been that way, and they’re clearly a good side.
“Our ability to get the game on our terms in the last quarter was key with implementing the strategy we wanted.
“Being able to cover some key personnel was big today, so our ability to replace them proved to be important.”
Despite the early staggers in that final term that saw what had looked a game-winning margin close to single figures, Lindon — who produced a handful of pivotal intercepts in his own right late on — was never truly concerned.
“Our mindset in that moment was pretty clear,” Lindon said.
“We’ve shown some good signs of maturity throughout the year, so we were comfortable in that moment and fortunately, we had a lot of lads driving the bus to get momentum back in our favour.
“Our mid to forward connection was quite good. Kudos to all of them for working their patterns and moving it forward together.
“The marks inside 50 count would have been pretty good, I’d think.”
Looking ahead, the week off during the split round comes at a perfect time for Shepparton given its absences in Saturday’s clash.
Despite the bye, though, Lindon has no intention of slowing his side’s roll.
“The priority is using the bye to refresh the body and mind, but we want to maximise the momentum we’re having at the moment,” Lindon said.
“We’re fortunate that we’ve got two 50-50 sides coming in the Swans and Kyabram; we’ll have a good competitive run into finals, which is what we want.
“We’ll use the bye as a full stop for some of the sore lads, but we’re fortunate that the others will be back in round 18 if not round 17.”
There was news on the personal front for Lindon, too, with he and fellow co-coach Xavier Stevenson confirmed to return at the helm in season 2025.
As one would imagine, it was a straightforward call given the Bears’ remarkable rise.
“From our point of view it wasn’t a hard decision,” Lindon said.
“We’ve been able to grow in a linear fashion over the last three years in terms of wins and losses and it’s spiked this season.
“The club as a whole is very well-aligned from top to bottom and it’s great to go into it with your best mate.”
Anything is still possible for Ryan Pendlebury’s 8-8 Euroa side in the meantime with Benalla and an underpowered Mansfield — albeit one who put a beating on Tatura Saturday — awaiting in the final fortnight.
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