Never has the phrase ‘’a game of two halves’’ been truer than in the case of Shepparton versus Shepparton United.
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The Demons dominated the Deakin Reserve derby in the first two quarters, but failed to kick their co-tenant to the kerb after the main break, falling 21 points short when all was said and done.
For Shepparton it was elation ― the side had knocked off Kyabram the week prior and was staring down the barrel of a slump.
But when given an inch the Bears took a mile, much to the dismay of United coach Duane Hueston after the 9.16 (70) to 7.7 (49) loss.
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Rising high: Shepparton United’s Hayden Brock. Photo by Megan FisherImage 2 of 8
Fixed on the footy: Shepparton United’s Declan Newbound and Shepparton’s Ted Lindon. Photo by Megan FisherImage 3 of 8
Lock and load: Shepparton’s Ted Lindon lines up a shot. Photo by Megan FisherImage 4 of 8
Off the peg: Shepparton United’s Kyle Clarke. Photo by Megan FisherImage 5 of 8
Manhandled: Shepparton’s Jhett Cooper gets ahold of Shepparton United’s Damien Pigatto. Photo by Megan FisherImage 6 of 8
Grab and run: Shepparton’s Tyron Baden. Photo by Megan FisherImage 7 of 8
Bear sandwich: Shepparton United’s Lewis Stanton fights for the ball with Shepparton’s Ethan Baxter and Jhett Cooper. Photo by Megan FisherImage 8 of 8
Safe hands: Shepparton’s Ethan Baxter. Photo by Megan Fisher“We seem to be doing it a lot; we play a good half of football, we do certain things a certain way and then the opposition will raise the pressure a little bit,” Hueston said.
“Instead of just dealing with that pressure and following out system, it feels like we go away from it and lose structure badly.
“It’s just costing us, we’ve got to work out how to respond differently to that pressure rather than going back to bad habits.
“We’ve got to question the mental side of things. Whether we put ourselves in a position we’re not used to and do we panic or are we waiting for the opposition to come back at us, who knows?”
Hueston was right, his side’s first half was easy on the eye.
Despite going a goal down as Shepparton’s Jacob Watts bagged the first of the afternoon United hit the front not long after.
Jayden Magro slotted a set shot from the right pocket, then Marcus Wattie was handed a gift by lacklustre mark attempt from Connor Fleming’s infield kick.
Magro then made it a pair of first-quarter goals with clean effort from 50m following an unfathomable grab.
It was one-way traffic in United’s favour as Lewis Stanton kicked his side out to a 23-point lead before Watts displayed a show of speed around the goal square to close out the first term.
The Demons had the rub of the green in the second quarter, with the Bears struggling to break out of their defensive 50 in the first five minutes.
Mitch Black’s classy slot off the right boot re-established the 23-point buffer, but Shepparton threw away four prime chances to cut the margin with misses coming from Trent Herbert, Adam De Cicco, Zayden Leocata and Tyron Baden.
Half-time arrived and it was here a new game begun.
United winger Fergus Pinnuck was having a blinder, but went off clutching his wrist, and the injection of Ted Lindon up forward proved a masterclass by the Bears.
The Demons were given a shock, one which they would never recover from as Shepparton’s co-coach would go on to kick three goals down the other end from his usual defensive post.
Hueston’s men went scoreless in the third quarter and had one goal to their name in the fourth.
It was in stark contrast to Shepparton’s seven second-half majors, leaving a frustrated Hueston questioning what went wrong for his side.
However, he did manage to single out a few of his troops who played well.
“We’ve been giving Damien Pigatto a few roles each week of late and he did a really good job again,” he said.
“He did an outstanding job in keeping the influence of Jhett Cooper under control which is good for his growth.
“The same with Mitch Roche, he’s going on-ball and is doing really well. Marcus Wattie, he’s great to watch, he’s great to have in the team and we’re very thankful to have him.
“He’s very smooth, very skillful and just a very smart footballer.”
Hueston also mentioned his joy in seeing Kaedyn Napier back on the park after a personal tragedy.
“He’s obviously had to deal with a lot of personal things of late and just getting him back on the field and being amongst his friends,” he said.
“That’s one of the positives from the day was having him playing football and enjoying it.”
Senior Sports Journalist