After losing two of the first three games of the year, Rochester has found the winning formula, with the Tigers being victorious in their past seven matches.
On Saturday afternoon, Rochester made the journey to Mansfield to take on the Eagles.
Both sides hope to push deep into September action in the Goulburn Valley League this season, and the start of this match had a finals-like intensity to it.
The Eagles led the Tigers by two points at the first break, but Ash Watson’s side soon hit its straps as Rochester burst away in the second quarter.
With third place on the ladder on the line, Mansfield came storming back into the contest in the third term as the Eagles’ intensity and pressure lifted.
However, Rochester’s defence stood tall as Mansfield player-coach Jack Hutchins said his side was left to rue its inability to hit the scoreboard when in attack.
“We didn’t make the most of our opportunities as they were cutting the ball off at half-forward,” he said.
“We couldn’t really get the deep entries that we wanted, which would have enabled us to score.”
Rochester held a 16-point lead at the three-quarter time break (41-57), with Mansfield hoping to make a late charge, but the Tiger train clicked into gear, kicking four goals to none in the last term to claim the win.
The final score finished 5.12 (42) to 12.10 (82) in Rochester’s favour.
Hutchins believes that although the loss was disappointing, his side still took a lot from the game.
“It was a great contest,” he said.
“Rochester certainly brought physicality to the game, which we probably struggled to match overall.
“We both play quite similarly, so it was probably good for the guys to see that kind of game style on the other side.
“To Rochy’s credit, they were really strong and their ability to win the ball on the inside and their balance on the outside just made it really hard to stop their momentum.
“Disappointing to get that result, but there were a lot of learnings from that, which our boys can take, which they will be better for.”
The Tigers are known for their physical and hard-nosed style of play and, while Rochester clearly won the inside battle on the day, Hutchins was impressed by two of his midfielders who were up for the fight.
“It was a tough game in the middle,” he said.
“Jayden Howes was super because physically they beat us on the weekend, but he was one of our guys who really stood up and tried to bring that presence.
“Another one was Brett Mahoney in the midfield, who was an experienced head who tried to take the game and bring the momentum back our way.
“Our best football stands up with the top teams; it is just whether we can, firstly, bring it for four quarters, and secondly able to maintain the rage and keep our form up.”
This weekend, Mansfield will travel to Seymour to take on the Lions, while Rochester will host Shepparton Swans at Moon Oval.
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