Shepparton batters Mansfield in ballistic opening-quarter blast

The Bears were bullish and dogged in their start to the match, booting 8.6 (54) to 1.1 (7) in the opening quarter.

Shepparton forward-midfielder Joel Brett continued his strong form, kicking six goals for the match and collecting 31 touches.

Brett and key forward Trent Herbert were the stars of the show in the dominant first quarter, with the duo kicking five goals between it to set the Bears up beautifully.

Arguably, the recruit of the year, Ash Holland, was a force to be reckoned with in the ruck.

The wily Holland was relentless at stoppages (65 hit-outs), with the Bears ruckman also influential around the ground, kicking two goals and having 11 score involvements for the match.

Shepparton player-coach Xavier Stevenson was proud of his big man’s efforts.

“Ash Holland was terrific as he has been all year in the ruck,” Stevenson said.

“I thought his ability to give us first use was incredible all day.”

Stevenson also shone a light on some of his team’s other stars.

“(Brett) was super prevalent, not just in his offence game, but also his ability to put pressure on the football,” he said.

“Ads (Adam) De Cicco, just another strong performance, which we have become pretty accustomed to as he is pretty consistent across the board.

“He put in a serious shift as well.”

Mansfield’s intensity lifted in the second and fourth quarters of the match, but the game was already done and Shepparton never took the foot off the accelerator, kicking six goals in both the third and fourth quarter.

It must be said that the Eagles were missing some of their best players, such as Ben Christopher and Harry Mahoney, for various reasons, but Shepparton was far too strong on the day.

The Bears eventually won the match 10.8 (68) to 23.11 (149).

Stevenson said his side had a focus on its starts heading into the match.

“It’s always a bit of the big unknown (travelling to Mansfield); we have got a lot of respect for them and it is always tough to win in Mansfield,” he said.

“We haven’t — notoriously — had fantastic starts this year, so it is always a work in progress and something that we have been tinkering with a little bit.

“It’s really challenging to know how you are going to start at times and as a coach you never know how that is going to look, but early days you could just tell we were on.

“We had a big emphasis on the fact that we were going to be away, so we needed to make a statement early and I thought the boys did that through their tackling pressure and intent.”

Shepparton’s dynamic and fluid forward line in 2024 is a thing to behold when in full flight.

The Bears’ mix of Herbert (four goals for the game), Brett, Jake Watts (two), Lewis McShane (one) and star Luke Smith (didn’t play) creates a potent attack for Shepparton.

Stevenson believes the increased scoring output, while partly due to the Bears’ talent-laden forward line, is largely because of their work rate and pressure further up the ground.

“Last year, we averaged about 62 points per game and this season we have averaged well over 100,” he said.

“That has been really pleasing.

“It probably stems from our contest and our pressure and then we are able to get our ball movement going from there.

“It will still be our focus area because it has been a strength.

“By all means, we are nowhere near a finished product, but we will just continue to toil away at all those facets of the game.”

Shepparton will host Shepparton United this weekend in the second Deakin derby of the season, while Mansfield will travel to Princess Park to play Shepparton Swans.