Rochester vs Shepparton Bears preliminary final. Lachie Watson under heaps of pressure. Photo: Bruce Povey
Shepparton has made it three wins from three matches against Rochester this season, with the Bears booking a spot in the 2024 Goulburn Valley League grand final at the Tigers expense after an impressive performance on Sunday.
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Having defeated the Rochy by 45 and 57 points, respectively, throughout the home-and-away season, Shepparton came into the preliminary final at Deakin Reserve as the firm favourites.
Shepparton’s crusade to secure its first flag since 2018 has been aided by the return of some of its stars from that historical victory over then-powerhouse side Kyabram.
On Sunday afternoon against the pressure-rampant Tigers, the Bears’ stars of 2018 once again stood up for the club, with ruck Ash Holland and midfielder-forward Luke Smith producing scintillating performances.
In sunny but windy conditions, Rochester key forward Mitch Cricelli started the match in ripping form, scoring the first goal of the day with a 25-metre soccer off the ground before kicking a second goal from a set shot.
To add to Shepparton’s woes, Smith received a yellow card five minutes into the match for rough conduct after he initially received a free kick for a high tackle.
Some poor field kicking from the Bears and relentless run and drive from the Tigers led to a snapping goal to Rochester’s Bailey Wileman, making it a 0-18 start.
After a free kick for a hold 35m out from goal, Shepparton key forward Trent Herbert was able to convert the Bears’ first.
A second goal to gun midfielder Ned Byrne cut the margin back to six points soon after.
Tigers star Mitch Trewhella and Bears gun Holland were both prominent for their sides early as the contest evened late in the quarter.
A 50-metre penalty awarded to Shepparton’s Lewis McShane led to a set-shot goal and closed the Bears to within one point of the Tigers (25-26) on the eve of quarter time.
GVL Data ranked Rochester and Shepparton as the two best sides in the competition this season, and this was evident across the first two quarters.
The hunting, tackling, bumps and controlled aggression from both sides made this match an enthralling encounter.
As the second quarter wore on, Shepparton began to flex its muscles, kicking 5.5 to Rochester’s 1.0 to take a 28-point lead into the main break.
Smith kept the Bears’ run of goals going in the second half with a beautiful banana from the boundary — his third for the day.
An arm wrestle between the two sides played out throughout the rest of the third term, with neither side able to make a significant impact on the scoreboard.
At the three-quarter time break, the Bears led the Tigers 74-41.
With their season on the line, the Tigers were always going to go barrelling into the final quarter and thanks to an early goal from Dylan Gordon, Rochester sniffed an opening for a late comeback.
However, two late goals to McShane (three for the match) sealed the result for the Bears.
