Slick Shepparton Swans surge past Shepparton United to make it seven wins on the spin

A clinic from Jedd Wright’s men sealed a 20.12 (132) to 11.7 (73) result on home soil, with surgical kicking and elite work from one end to the other warming the Swans’ cockles in the biting cold.

“United were a really strong team to play against, they’re a very physical team and in the end we were just happy to leave with the four points and look forward to the bye to freshen up,” Wright said.

“I think we certainly got the ascendancy in that first quarter through the middle.

“’Kov’ (Mark Kovacevic) got his hands on it, the mids really went to town and our forwards worked really well as a unit and managed to get on the end of a few.”

With a ‘feels like’ temperature rating in the single digits, the Swans started in white-hot fashion with the first four goals of the match inside 10 minutes.

A nicely taken kick by Steele Simpson set the tone for the hosts and the reply didn’t arrive until Liam Serra angled one through to get United on the board.

The Swans continued to make the hard look easy, boasting near immaculate kicking in the first quarter at 8.2, though United’s Jesse Cucinotta fired the last shot by converting after consecutive 50m penalties.

Yet, in the following quarter, quality from both sides dropped off significantly.

A fracas broke out and was the only notable moment in the first 20 minutes before Swans’ bustling ruckman Kovacevic broke the dry spell, taking a mark just inside 50 and burying it with the confidence of a seasoned centre half-forward.

A goal each way had the home side up 68-25 and the Swans broadened their margin early in the third term in the lead up to a late tackle that left star midfielder Oliver Warburton winded and crumpled in a heap.

The Swans used it as fuel with a pair of lightning fast breaks down the left flank that resulted in handsome majors to edge closer to the 100-point mark.

But United, desperate not to be walked over, had a few in the chamber to shoot back.

Mitch Serra’s perfect slot from the boundary came amidst a quick fire Kyle Clarke double, making enough noise to show the hosts that these Demons were ready to fly like bats out of hell in the last.

However, time wasn’t on their side.

United wasn’t able to replicate the run on in the final quarter and, instead, the Swans brought the house down late with a quartet of majors, the best of which arriving from gun on-baller Nathan Hrovat.

The former Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne jet was judged best afield while Simpson and Nathan Rachele each claimed four-goal hauls for the Swans.

On the losing front, Kade Chalcraft was industrious through the middle, while draft prospect Riley Onley, back in Demons colours for the first time in nearly two years, was a dominant force up forward.

United will look to rebound after the interleague bye against Rochester, while the Swans eye off a litmus test against reigning premier Echuca — a game that Wright views as a “real free swing”.

“We’ve beaten the teams we wanted to beat if we’re going to push for finals and, now in the next month, we get to test ourselves against the top four and after that month block we’ll see where we stack up,” he said.

“For a team that’s been starved of wins through the last few years and, obviously, last year losing six games by under 10 points, we knew that our footy was good enough.

“But to be 7-0 in the seniors and the seconds, it’s a really good feeling.

“Like every other club, you’ve got six or seven out that you’re looking to try get back in at some stage — the feeling is really positive heading into the bye weekend.”