Magpies fall painfully short

ON a cold yet somewhat clear day at Deakin Reserve, the Magpies took on unbeaten Shepparton Bears who are displaying a resurgence in 2024 and were keen to send a message on their home deck. Coach Pendlebury was back in the side as was Ryan Hill, Jett Trotter, Jack McKernan and for his first senior game in 2024, Josh Robertson came into the team. The game began at a frenetic pace with excellent drive provided time and again from the half back line through Nic Burke. This allowed the ball to enter the Magpie forward line with regularity – unfortunately this did not result in the scoreboard pressure the team were chasing. In the absence of Andrew Smith, Fletcher Paul took up the challenge of meeting the opposition ruck combination – he was supported throughout the afternoon by Matthew Ivill as they both gave their all for the team in this contest. Tristan Davies was superb as a key forward – his strength in the air and ability to take a contested mark is wonderful and was on display right throughout the afternoon. The speed at which players hit the contest and delivered the ball did not dissipate throughout the match as both sides looked to gain some ascendancy. With the match in the balance throughout each quarter, key decisions from the umpires were at times difficult for supporters from both sides to understand. The number of lead changes were too numerous to count as the game see-sawed on the back of excellent defensive play from both teams. Garside’s Dan and Tom were heading up the Euroa defence, as was Nate Trotter whose stellar season keeps on producing. Midfield grunt was being provided by Michael Barnes – whose wonderful banana kick on the run for a goal was one of the highlights of the match – and Marcus Varley. An injury to Max Gleeson meant the rotations were down one – this meant Jacob Gleeson and Andrew Bell had to cover more minutes than normal – they responded well. A couple of last quarter goals from Josh Robertson looked to have the 'Pies in control of the contest only for the Bears to move the ball from end to end and score a much-needed major which meant the game had a two-kick buffer…something the 'Pies ultimately were not able to peg back before the final siren. Euroa 10-11-71 defeated by Shepparton Bears 12-11-83 Best players: Tristan Davies, Marcus Varley, Michael Barnes, Lachie Hill, Zac Gleeson Goal kickers: Tristan Davies (3), Josh Robertson (2), Silver Yousif (1), Max Gleeson (1), Fletcher Paul (1), Jett Trotter (1), Michael Barnes (1)