Under the radiant afternoon glow at Deakin Reserve on Sunday, Shepparton Notre Bears shone brightest.

In the last match on Goulburn Murray Junior League grand final day, the Bears claimed a 12.5 (77) to 7.8 (50) victory against Echuca Murray Bombers to net consecutive under-16 division one premierships.

The opening exchanges were pure statement.

From the first bounce, two kicks had the ball in Alex Whitlock’s hands, and he did the rest, making a tricky set shot look casual.

Within three minutes, Harry Keat had crumbed and snapped another.

Echuca steadied the tide for a spell, but Whitlock wasn’t done.

On the stroke of quarter time he produced a party piece — a sizzling snap from the pocket from the tightest of angles.

But if the first term belonged to Whitlock, the second showed off Shepparton’s spread.

Kaiden Whittaker launched from 50 on the angle and split the sticks with a monster kick.

Soon after, Whitlock added a tracer-bullet goal from range, before the Bears produced the move of the day: a pirouette, a handball assist, and Noah Wells cannoning a major through the middle in a Harlem Globetrotters-style passage.

Echuca fought fire with fire, Jackson Butterworth weaving around three defenders before crashing home a left-footed snap that drew applause from both ends.

Still, Shepparton went to the main break with breathing space: 37-17.

Whittaker’s radar faltered early, striking the post, but he soon atoned with a composed finish.

Echuca’s Alfred Cunningham responded with a clever set shot, but Shepparton’s skipper Archie Daniel — later named best-on-ground — steadied the ship with a captain’s goal.

Clancy Keenan followed with another, and the margin ballooned.

Even as Beasley jagged a second for the Bombers late in the term, Shepparton carried a 59-30 lead into the last change, one hand on the cup.

Echuca tried to muster a charge as Beasley’s third, a long kick over the line before it was touched, provided early hope.

For 10 minutes, the game locked into trench warfare, neither side finding clean entry.

Then Whitlock, under heavy pressure, stabbed one through while being dragged to the turf for his fourth. Butterworth answered with flair, but Keenan, fed by Whitlock, calmly converted a set shot to extinguish any doubt.

Fittingly, Whitlock sealed it minutes later with his fifth, the exclamation point on a performance equal parts dazzling and decisive.

A late Harrison Whan consolation for Echuca only trimmed the margin to 27, but the game was already painted in maroon and gold.

Coach Clint Dudgeon admitted it wasn’t the Bears at their absolute best, but in a grand final, the result was the only thing that mattered.

“It was a tight game; it sort of ebbed and flowed, which is finals footy I suppose,” Dudgeon said.

“We bobbed up when we needed to and got that bit of a breather on the scoreboard which made it a little bit easier throughout the day. But you never know with finals.”

The scoreboard might suggest Shepparton’s class always had the upper hand, but Dudgeon was quick to credit Echuca’s resistance.

“We were certainly a bit off, but that is probably to Echuca’s credit — the pressure they put on stopped us from getting to our best,” he said.

“Most blokes had their moments which was a pleasing thing. It was pretty hard to pick the best because there was certainly a lot of players who bobbed up and played their part.

“Anyone who watched knows we’ve got a fair bit of talent in our side.

“It’s exciting — there’s definitely some talent to go up.”

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Monday, 6th February 2023

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