Gallery | Shepparton trumps fellow GVL contender Rochester in round 14

In what was supposed to be a tightly contested clash between two premiership contenders, one team dominated its opposition in grizzly conditions and secured a statement victory.

Shepparton made the journey to Rochester to take on the Tigers for the second time this season, with the first fixture resulting in a 45-point Bears victory at home in round three.

However, on Saturday, heading into the match Rochester was a vastly improved side that had won 10 games on the trot, including one against Echuca (the only team to beat the Bombers this season).

The opening quarter was tight, with neither side being able to break away before quarter-time — the scores being 1.2 (8) to 2.0 (12) in Shepparton’s favour.

With the wind sharp, the sky gloomy and the deck slippery, no-one could have been expecting the second-quarter blitz from the Bears.

In the second term, Shepparton outscored Rochester 37-7 to open up a 34-point lead at the main break.

Shepparton’s scoring was fluid and dynamic — as it has been all season — with no player kicking more than two goals for the match and yet 16 majors sailed through for the away team.

The Bears had four multiple goal-scorers: Trent Herbert, Xavier Stevenson, Joel Brett and Jhett Cooper.

Overall, the Bears had 12 individual goal-kickers, once again proving their ability to hurt teams in multiple ways.

Shepparton came out roaring to start the second half, with three quickfire goals to Cooper, Stevenson and Brett nearly putting the result beyond doubt with the scores at 15-67, Shepparton’s way.

Rochester was then able to slow down the Bears’ onslaught, but by that point, the damage had been done.

The final score was 7.6 (48) to 16.9 (105) in an imposing display from the Bears.

Shepparton player-coach Xavier Stevenson said he was impressed by his side’s performance, especially given Rochester’s recent form and the grim weather.

“We were super pleased with the result,” he said.

“We knew how well Rochester have been playing; I think their last loss was when we first played them back in round three.

“The conditions were really challenging; the first quarter was a bit of a grind, and then we were able to get our ball movement going in the second, and we really capitalised on our chances.”

While the wintery conditions weren’t conducive to picture-perfect football, Stevenson said that his side tried to use the weather to its advantage.

“With the wind, we had a focus on how we wanted to move the football, and we probably used the corridor more in the second quarter, which gave us really good looks,” he said.

“I thought our ability to move the football in testing conditions in the second (quarter) was really good.

“We put away our chances as well; I think we kicked one behind from our first eight or nine shots.”

Stevenson said the Bears produced one of their best team performances this season, emphasising how important it was that his side didn’t have to rely on its stars to get the team over the line.

The Shepparton co-coach highlighted some of the efforts of his workhorse brigade.

“(Jake) Watts had a good game where he was able to break the lines for us,” he said.

“Our wingers in Lachy Rumbiolo and Tanner Madigan played really well.

“Some of our heart and soul players like Liam Duguid just kept grinding all day, which was super positive as well.”

Shepparton has a tough four weeks leading into finals with fixtures against Shepparton Swans, Euroa, Kyabram and Seymour.

This weekend the Bears will host the Lions at Deakin Reserve on Saturday in round 15 of Goulburn Valley League.