Players from both sides scramble for the ball. Photos: Bruce Povey
Photo by
Bruce Povey
Echuca has added another premiership to its trophy case, grabbing the reserves premiership over rival Rochester at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton.
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The Murray Bombers left it late to get the job done, but a seven-goal last-quarter blitz blew Rochy away and secured the title 13.11 (89) to 6.8 (44).
Rochester brought the pressure early and Echuca found life hard escaping defensive 50.
Dylan Cuttriss logged the first major of the afternoon with seven minutes gone and Charlie Ward followed up to double the advantage for the Tigers.
Kobyn James was first to put Echuca on the board after earning a free kick inside the goal square.
Charlie Palmer punches it away.
Photo by
Bruce Povey
The sides each added another major in the period and Rochy went into the break a goal and change on top, 3.2 (20) to 2.0 (12).
The second quarter swung much more favourably towards Echuca, and the Murray Bombers took advantage of their defensive dominance and kicked two majors for the quarter, while the Tigers were restricted to minor scores.
In fact, Echuca would have been disappointed to only lead by five points at the break, given its dominance.
Echuca may have felt it had better opportunities, but it was Rochy who converted in the final minutes of the third, securing a two-point lead at the final break.
The teams traded majors in the early part of the fourth quarter, but as play began to break down, it was the Tigers who were coming out the better in the latter exchanges.
With 10 minutes gone in the fourth, a goalless term had tipped slightly in Echuca’s favour, as it levelled the behind count and the scores.
Callum Parsons made a breakthrough for Echuca from the edge of forward 50, splitting the middle with a wobbler to send Echuca back ahead by six points.
It was the first stone of what would become an avalanche for the Murray Bombers, as they stacked on another six goals to grab the championship by 45 points.
Echuca put through 7.5 to Rochester’s 0.2 in the final term, cementing a huge reserves flag to go with the under-18s the club won on Sunday morning.
Tighe O’Brien was declared best-on-ground in the contest, and the best of the entire finals series.
The final score was Rochester 6.8 (44) to Echuca 13.11 (89), which betrays just how competitive the match was for three-and-a-half quarters, but the Murray Bombers showed too much class and poise when the title was on the line.
“Credit to Rochy, they were great and we knew they’d bring it to us,” Echuca coach Troy Murphy said.
“Obviously, they are very experienced compared to our blokes, who are very inexperienced.
“I think we’ve only got about two blokes over 22, so it’s just great to get the job done.”
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