Third-term woes: Echuca was dominant in the first, second and fourth quarters against Euroa at the weekend but is the Magpies’ third term somewhat of a blueprint on how to beat the Murray Bombers? Photo: Aidan Briggs
Third-term woes: Echuca was dominant in the first, second and fourth quarters against Euroa at the weekend but is the Magpies’ third term somewhat of a blueprint on how to beat the Murray Bombers? Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
AFL legend Leigh Matthews famously stole a line from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Predator during the lead up to the round 10 clash between his Lions and the reigning premier Essendon in 2001.
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“If it bleeds we can kill it. And we reckon Essendon can bleed.”
It might seem overly dramatic to apply the same quote to the Goulburn Valley League clash between Echuca and Euroa, especially considering the outcome of the game, but teams might take some belief away from Euroa’s third term.
For three out of four quarters on Saturday at Memorial Oval, Echuca was utterly dominant, restricting Euroa to just nine points while going about their merry business and piling on 11 goals.
But for half an hour, there was a little glimpse that the other 11 sides in the competition will have noticed, a patch of play that will sparkle to any side that considers themselves a contender this season — the Murray Bombers were made to look vulnerable.
The all-conquering side out of Victoria Park was beaten in the third term, as the Magpies managed to turn the tide and play the game on their own terms.
Euroa restricted Echuca’s uncontested marking, while also recording the equal highest amount of its own for any quarter of the game, with 23 compared to the Murray Bombers’ 24.
The Magpies also managed to curtail Echuca’s kicking game, keeping the Murray Bombers to less than 50 disposals by foot for the term, the only time that happened throughout the contest, while also upping their output (49 to 59).
That trend continued with turnovers — while Euroa still gave the ball back 25 times, it forced Echuca to surrender possession on 18 occasions, again the most of any quarter, but a big difference lay in how it defended its own mistakes.
Echuca’s highest score source throughout the afternoon came from turnover, kicking a whopping 8.8 (56), which accounted for 70 per cent of its total score.
But Euroa was able to defend the turnover in the third term, with the Murray Bombers kicking just 0.2 while the home side added 3.1 (19) from the same source.
Repeat forward entries also helped the Magpies, who recorded 15 forays forward opposed to Echuca’s 10, the only term in which they had more inside-50s.
Disposal efficiency was also a big factor, and despite the sides going at roughly the same rate for the entirety of the contest (Euroa 71 per cent to Echuca 70 per cent), the Magpies were much cleaner with their ball use in the third term, going at 75 per cent while forcing Echuca to a lowly 55 per cent efficiency.
Most importantly, Euroa was able convert its statistical dominance on the scoreboard, kicking 4.1 for the term, the only time it managed multiple goals in a quarter, while keeping Echuca to two behinds for the term.
Echuca of course fired back like the champion team it is in the fourth quarter, ravaging the Magpies to keep them scoreless and run out comfortable winners by 45 points, but given Euroa’s third term, opposition sides might just start to believe that Echuca can bleed.
