Shepparton, Mooroopna and Euroa stake claim for early flag favouritism as only unbeaten GVL A-grade sides

Threatening shooter Kim Borger was her usual dazzling self, slotting 40 of the Bears’ 57 goals, which led the side to its third serving of four points.

Only Mooroopna and Euroa now stand alongside Shepparton at the summit.

The Bears stumbled twice to Rochester in 2023, but held the Tigers at arm’s length for the majority of Saturday’s contest, impressing coach Stacey Thompson after she demanded a robust fourth-quarter finish following last week’s nervy triumph.

“We did a really good job in the last quarter,” Thompson said.

“The same thing was happening as last week, but we let (Shepparton) United back in and this week we held our 10-goal margin, so that was fantastic.

“I still think we could’ve won by a few more, but when they came at us, we held our own in those last few minutes.”

A great battle ensued in the Bears’ offensive ring as Borger tussled with Rochester goal keeper Bridgette McCarty, but the former had the upper hand early to spear Shepparton to a 16-10 quarter-time lead.

Mackenzie O’Dwyer, back from state duties, made her first A-grade cameo of the season in centre during the second term as she took over from Paigan Impey, displaying elite athleticism to wrest possession back through the midcourt.

But while Shepparton had its young gun firing, Rochester was without its own teen sensation.

Goal attack Teal Hocking did not feature at all for the Tigers, leaving the bulk of the shooting onus to former Maiden Gully goaler Tia Webb.

Webb flexed her laser-like accuracy as Rochester matched the Bears’ 13-goal effort in the second quarter, but the hosts advanced their lead in the following exchange despite a late surge from the yellow brigade.

An evenly-balanced 14-goal contribution from either outfit in the final arm wrestle kept Shepparton in a position of relative comfortability.

With perennial finals contender Seymour up next, Thompson wants to see that momentum roll into what shapes as Shepparton’s toughest assignment yet.

“I’m very happy with that (three wins from three), but mostly because each week we’re improving,” she said.

“The wins are obviously very important, but what we’re doing to get those wins each week is improving and that’s more important.

“We’re slowly edging our way up the ladder, so we’re looking forward to having a battle against Seymour.

“They’re obviously a really quality side with lots of depth, so it’ll be good to test ourselves against them.”

Thompson applauded O’Dwyer’s shift upon return from the National Netball Championships as well as her fellow midcourt marshalls.

“She did a great job; she played centre through the middle of the match,” Thompson said.

“She took some fantastic balls and great defensive efforts, so it’s great to have her out there with us.

“I think all our midcourt group did a really good job today consistently; I was able to change them around and they continued to do what they needed to do.”

For Rochester, Webb caught the eye, while centre Ella Roulston stood out during the loss.

Further west, Mooroopna beat reigning premier Echuca out of recognisable shape for a 42-goal triumph on enemy territory.

The Cats were up by 18 goals halfway through and continued to throttle the bottle greens in the second half, welcoming back Dayna Williams from injury late in the piece as the visitors claimed a 65-23 win.

Euroa returned from Kyabram with points in the bag following a 63-31 destruction, while Seymour bounced back from its round one loss by moving past Shepparton Swans by 11 goals.

Shepparton United toppled Benalla 43-30 on the road, while Tatura playing co-coach Elsie Boyer celebrated her 100th game in style as the Bulldogs whipped Mansfield 54-31.