Rochester will be looking to move on quickly from its Goulburn Valley League round one opener, falling by 53 points to arch-nemesis Echuca at Moon Oval.
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The Tigers were blown away in the second half by Echuca’s pressure game, but the home crowd faithful were delighted to see the Atley trio of Shaun, Joe and Jacob don the sash.
Shaun Atley had the Tigers up and about with Rochester’s first goal, cancelling out Cooper Barber’s opening goal.
Echuca pulled away in a fiery first quarter with five goals, including two to Murray Bombers forward Ruory Kirkby.
Rochester coach and 2021 leading goal-kicker Steve Stroobants hit the scoreboard in the second quarter, but late goals to Dan Willis and Liam Tenace saw the Tigers trail by 23 points at half-time.
Joe Atley, coming off a VFL purple patch, looked every bit the state footballer in the Rochester midfield while Dan Russell toiled hard in the ruck against the one-two punch of Kane Morris and Liam Tenace.
However, the Tigers went goalless in the third quarter with the game effectively put to bed at the final break.
Stroobants and Izaac Johnson broke Rochester’s goal drought midway through the fourth quarter, but the damage was done as the Murray Bombers sent a reminder that it was the team to beat in the GVL.
Stroobants conceded his side “hurt themselves” with their efficiency by hand and foot.
“We probably hurt ourselves a little bit with our disposal efficiency,” he said.
“They were a lot cleaner than us around the contest, their foot skills were super.
“In the third quarter they really clamped us down and locked us down in our back half, which isn’t how we want to play.
“We like to move (the ball) quickly because we’re a pretty small side.
“We ended up having to kick down the line, and you have the likes of (Cam) Valentine and Kane Morris making it very tough to compete in the air.”
The contest took a toll on both squads, with big injury news on both fronts.
Murray Bombers star recruit Sam Reid went down with a knee injury in just his first game for the club.
Tigers midfielder Doug Wren, in his first game for the Tigers since 2018, was sent for scans on his own knee injury sustained during the clash.
Both players are set for extended stints on the sideline.
“We haven’t heard a final diagnosis on that yet so we’ll wait for a scan,” Stroobants said.
“Hopefully it’s not too bad and he can get back to playing sometime this year.”
Wren will be a forced change, but the Tigers look set to welcome back skipper Nathan Marrone from suspension for its Good Friday clash against Kyabram.
Echuca face Euroa at Victoria Park on Saturday, and coach Simon Maddox is hoping his squad can replicate its round one performance.
“Obviously, we were under a bit of duress (against Rochester),” Maddox said.
“We had injuries early and we were dropping like flies in the last quarter.
“We only had one fit on the bench at the end of the game and a few blokes cramping up.
“To our credit, we fought it out in the last quarter, we didn’t cough up any easy goals.
“Every time you beat Rochy is a great win, but obviously with the injection of the Atley boys it was a bit of a pumped-up game.”
Shaun and Joe Atley were named in the best for the Tigers, but the Rochester forwards struggled to find fluency against the pressure of Echuca’s defence.
“I thought our backs were really miserly,” Maddox said.
“Logan Prout and Ben Reid back there marshalled up well.
“AJ Mills through the middle, Mitch Wales was in-and-under all day, and Kane (Morris) rucked most of the day unchanged.
“It was a real team effort.”
Liam Tenace provided more strength in the air for the Murray Bombers, while Jack Evans was also named in the best players.
It was an emphatic start for the GVL minor premier, whose 2021 premiership run was thwarted by COVID-19.
Echuca will come in without Sam Reid, with Maddox admitting his absence from this week’s squad was already expected as he battles a shoulder injury.
“Sam jarred his knee (during the game),” Maddox said. “He was going in for shoulder surgery this week anyway, so he’ll miss a bit.
“Obviously, it will give him a bit of time to get his knee right as well. At this point it doesn’t look like it’s anything structural.
“Cam (Valentine), we’re not too sure, we’ll have to have a look and see.
“The rest were just collision injuries, corkies etc.”
Maddox is excited to return to the “Fortress,” and says not much will change as his squad look to emulate its round one showing.
“We love playing at Vic Park; we think of that as our fortress,” Maddox said.
“They’re obviously a very good side Euroa, they score really heavily, and they have a host of good players so it’s hard to target any one player.
“We’ll be back at Vic Park hopefully putting up another performance like we did today —if we do that we’ll be hard to beat.”
Rochester will travel to Kyabram Reserve for one of the GVL’s harder fixtures, facing Kyabram on Good Friday.
Around the GVL, Euroa suffered a 27-point loss to Mansfield, while Kyabram slogged to an 11-point win over Tatura.
Mooroopna and Seymour enjoyed strong victories over Shepparton Bears and Benalla respectively, while Shepparton Swan won the local derby against United by 25 points.
GVL round one
Echuca 15.12-102 def Rochester 6.13-49
Echuca
Goals: Ruory Kirkby 5, Cooper Barber, Jack Evans, Riley Smith 2, Logan Prout, Liam Tenace
Best: Logan Prout, Jack Evans, Liam Tenace, Benjamin Reid, Ruory Kirkby
Rochester
Goals: Steve Stroobants 2, Shaun Atley, Lachlan Harper, Chris Jansen, Izaac Johnson
Best: Joseph Atley, Christopher Jansen, Shaun Atley, Jordan Harper, Blake Evans