Shepp United (10th) v Echuca (3rd)
When United played Echuca in Round One this year, the Demons led by a point at half-time and were just three points behind at the last change. It is now history that the reigning premier had 13 scoring shots in the last quarter and won by 39 points, but both teams have different personnel for this weekend’s game.
United is coming off its first win of the season, against bottom-ranked Tatura by 108 points, which also marked the only time it has registered triple figures this year.
Three of its stars – Jesse Cucinotta, Jack McCartney and Joel Serra – had 44 disposals as the Demons racked up a season-best 465 disposals for the afternoon.
Since that first-round game, the Demons have played every other team that occupies positions one to seven on the table. It has been a tough draw indeed, which gets better in the remaining weeks when they face Benalla, Euroa (twice), and Mooroopna.
United goalkicker Kaedyn Napier didn’t play that game and is coming off his best game of the season (six goals against Tatura).
The Murray Bombers won against Mooroopna on the weekend despite having Jack McHale, Cooper Barber, Ben Reid, Kane Morris and Hugh Byrne on the sidelines. All five were in the line-up that beat United in that Round One game.
While United has won just one game, they have been highly competitive, with defenders Caidan Phillips, Declan Newbound and hard-running coach Jesse Cucinotta in outstanding form.
Cameron Valentine has stepped up in the absence of regular forwards and has kicked seven goals in the last two weeks, enjoying the return of Leo Tenace on the weekend after the high-leaping premiership star returned for a second time this season from injury.
Echuca will need to start better than it did against the Cats on Saturday. They trailed by 26 points at quarter-time but kicked nine goals to none in the second half to secure an eighth win and third spot on the ladder.
Prediction: Echuca by 21 points
LTTM: Round 12, 2024 – Echuca won by 112 points.
Benalla (11th) v Mooroopna (9th)
Mooroopna exploded out of the blocks in its game with Echuca on the weekend but didn’t kick a goal after quarter-time and sits only two rungs above Benalla on the ladder with only one more victory.
The Cats were again without star ruckman Jack Johnston, and Ethan Hunt was back playing with the Bulldogs in the VFL. They continue to defend well (the 7th-ranked defence), but are the 2nd-worst attacking team in the GVL.
Benalla comes into the game after a solid month of football. They won their first game of the year against Tatura in Round 5, then challenged third-ranked Rochester, lost to Euroa by just four points, and were competitive for two of the four quarters against Seymour on Saturday.
The Lions kicked five goals to Benalla’s one in the second term and held them goalless in the last, despite the midfield domination of ruckman Mark Marriott and ball-magnet Chris Welsh.
Mooroopna will be hoping to increase the margin between itself and the bottom three teams (United, Benalla and Tatura) in the next fortnight as it faces the Saints and Bulldogs in successive weeks.
Benalla coach Jarrad Waite hasn’t played since Round Two but would be a welcome addition to play alongside Nathan Wright. Wright managed only one goal on the weekend against the quality Echuca defence.
Just how many intercept marks Nick Warnock can take in this game will be interesting, as the Cats have struggled with their Inside 50 marking. He took another seven on Saturday as his team was highly competitive and won the contested ball count against Seymour +40.
The Saints kicked six of their seven goals in two quarters, and only a -23 point second term cost them a shot at causing an upset against the Lions.
Prediction: Mooroopna by 26 points
LTTM Round 12, 2024 – Mooroopna won by 46 points.
Seymour (6th) v Rochester (2nd)
Seymour has won five of its last six games and now sits a game clear inside the top six, as the Shepparton Bears dropped outside finals contention following a fifth straight defeat.
This weekend’s game marks the start of an extremely difficult month of football, where the Lions face the five teams above them on the ladder in successive weeks. After the Tigers game, they face Echuca, unbeaten ladder leader Kyabram, the out-of-form Swans, and Mansfield.
Seymour didn’t have Jack Peris or Nic Quigg in its line-up against Benalla, but with nine first-half goals to four, led from start to finish.
They’ll be hoping for more Murray Bushrangers bye weekends, as young star Rory Kennedy added another three goals to his impressive senior GVL résumé on the weekend. He has kicked nine goals in three games with Seymour this season (and four goals in his only Under-18 game with the Lions).
Kennedy laid 3 tackles I50, had 3 clearances and 13 disposals. Cooper Holdsworth-Rose, who plays in the Coates Talent League with Eastern Ranges, had 18 disposals and 6 Rebound 50s.
Midfield leader Jack Murphy is in career-best form and his match-up with Mitch Trewhella is mouth-watering. The Lions will get enough of the ball to win, but whether or not they can break through the Tigers’ defence remains the question.
Dylan Gordon, Ryan O’Keefe, and Andy Henderson have all enjoyed good seasons, while the Lions rely almost exclusively on Nathan Fowler for Inside 50 marking.
When the teams played in Round One this year, the Tigers won by 79 points. All five of the Lions’ goals came from individuals, with Gordon the second-best player on the ground.
Prediction: Rochester by 12 points
LTTM: Round 8, 2024 – Rochester won by three points.
Euroa (8th) v Mansfield (5th)
Euroa and Mansfield will play for the Standpipe Cup on Saturday, a reward that recognises the role recycled water can play in keeping our regional sporting ovals green in dry times.
Mansfield currently holds the trophy and will be favourite to keep the silverware after winning three of its last four games and going within 11 points of toppling third-ranked Echuca.
The Eagles are strong in all three sectors: Dirk Koenen leads the charge with his intercept marking, alongside Ben Les and Adam Boshevski. In the midfield, Nick Gray is the defensively minded ball-winner who complements the hard-running Matt King and Callum Brown.
In attack, the Eagles have Jack Christopher, coach Jack Hutchins and William Hogan, who can post a winning score. However, they’ve struggled to hit big numbers and have gone past 100 points in only three of their nine games.
Inaccurate kicking has cost them dearly: on the weekend, they kicked 12 behinds from 19 scoring shots. The week prior they kicked 28 behinds from 42 scoring shots in an 88-point win over Benalla. Scores of 9.14, 10.14, 15.17, and 6.12 litter their record.
In the win against the Swans, Will Hogan (2 behinds) and Will Foster (1.3) were a little off target, but Christopher and Hutchins were more accurate.
Euroa is a strong ball-winning team thanks to Lachlan Hill, Jacob Gleeson, Nic Burke and Will Creevey, but they too have struggled in attack.
Prediction: Mansfield by 41 points
LTTM: Round 18, 2024 – Mansfield won by 41 points.
Kyabram (1st) v Shepp Swans (4th)
Seven weeks into the 2025 season, Shepp Swans were second on the ladder, having won four games by 50+ points. Two weeks later, they sit fourth and face a real threat of dropping another rung if Mansfield beats Euroa and they cannot hand Kyabram its first loss.
In a draw quirk, the Swans face the Bombers twice in the final nine games, but only face two other top-six teams: Seymour (Round 13) and Rochester (Round 16).
The Bombers are cruising – kicking 15+ goals for the seventh time this season on the weekend and restricting Euroa to just two majors.
Unlikely hero Jack Russell, a defensive midfielder with just four goals in eight prior games, kicked four on Saturday.
Archie Watt added three majors – the fourth time he’s done so this year – and the Swans don’t appear to have the defensive structure to contain the Bombers’ many forward weapons.
At the other end, the Swans’ Inside 50 marking power of Simpson, Rachele and Auld will face Whitford, Morgan and Vick – all among the league’s top intercept markers recently.
Without ruckman Mark Kovacevic, the Swans struggled to get the ball I50. Only Andrew Riordan performed to any level – kicking four of their five goals. After kicking 7 in the first two games, Riordan had been goalless in the two prior rounds.
Moore and Sutherland filled in the ruck but will be outmatched by Kyabram’s elite co-captain ruck duo Zac Norris and Aiden Robinson, who combined for 52 hit outs, 13 clearances, 2 goals, 5 I50 marks and 5 Inside 50s.
Prediction: Kyabram by 31 points
LTTM: Round 8, 2024 – Kyabram won by 13 points.
Shepparton – Bye
Tatura – Bye
