GVL | Echuca delivers finals masterclass in Mansfield demolition

Seeking its first flag in 20 years, the minor premier led from start to finish in a scintillating four-quarter display.

A seven-goal-to-one second term laid the platform for Echuca to run away to a 16.9 (105) to 6.5 (41) victory.

Eagles coach Chad Owens said his side’s drop in intensity ultimately came back to haunt it.

“I think a lot of us were overawed with the sense of occasion,” he said.

“I thought our first 14-15 minutes were really solid. We kept them goalless in that first 14 minutes and I thought we had a few opportunities ourselves that might give us confidence.

“But our intensity dropped and theirs went higher. They were too well-drilled. They wanted the ball more and worked harder than us and as a result we had our pants pulled down.”

Asked if the loss would be a learning curve for his outfit, Owens said his charges got a good understanding of what was required against the top teams.

“I think it’s a good eye-opener of the standard you need to be at to win,” he said.

“If you drop your intensity in a final, you get hurt on the scoreboard. You can’t mentally switch off and physically you have got to be ready to go at all times.”

Echuca co-coach Simon Maddox praised the “team effort” behind his side’s performance after last week’s shock defeat to Mooroopna.

“That was a really big win,” Maddox said.

“We were a little bit undermanned and missing a bit of experience, but we played to our game plan really well.

“That was the most pleasing part. It was a team effort, there were no passengers and everyone played their role.

“When we play that brand of footy, we’re really hard to beat.”

After a tight start, the Murray Bombers broke through with two goals in quick succession via Angus Byrne.

The Eagles’ backline was forced to work overtime as Echuca dominated the inside-50 count and, despite the poise of Jack Hutchins, the Murray Bombers claimed a healthy lead.

Echuca’s rebound 50s continued to cause headaches throughout the second quarter as Ben Reid and Logan Prout repelled any Eagles entries.

"Our process was good, defensively we were sound. We attacked on the basis of our defence,’’ Maddox said.

Cameron Arnold eventually broke the Eagles’ goal drought and Jimmy Herridge fought hard in the midfield, but star Murray Bombers spearhead Ruory Kirkby and Byrne continued to find the goals.

Mansfield booted five goals in a fourth-quarter resurgence, but it wasn’t enough to put a dent in the final margin as Echuca held on to its double chance.

Maddox was pleased with the performance with several experienced stars missing, including captain and number one ruck Kane Morris.

“It was a good win and everything fell into place,” Maddox said.

“Liam Tenace and Lachlan Watson rucked well in Kane’s absence, and he shoulders most of the load for us there. Those two boys were sensational.

“We were confident that we didn’t play anywhere near our best football at Mooroopna. You want to see that response and we hit back well.

“We talk about it a lot — when you get knocked down, you get back up.”

Maddox said the club’s focus would now turn to a semi-final clash against Euroa, with the Magpies’ 51-point elimination final victory over Kyabram seeing the Bombers bow out of the race to defend their 2019 crown.

“The challenge for us is Euroa in seven days’ time,” Maddox said.

“They’ve made a mess of Kyabram so they’re obviously in really good form. We respect them greatly, they have a really good list on paper.

“We’re going to have to be as good as Saturday, if not better, if we intend on getting a win next week. Our attention hasn’t gone any further than that.

“For us, the plan is just one week at a time. How far we can climb that ladder, only time will tell.”