As the Goulburn Valley League season draws closer to finals, the mid-table logjam is set to produce finals-level intensity football ahead of the real deal.

Saturday’s clash between the Shepparton Swans and Rochester was one of those occasions.

Heading into the contest, neither side was in the top six.

A win, however, and that would change things.

Initially, it was the Tigers that held the upper hand.

While the Swans and Tigers shared three goals each in the opening term, Rochester had issued four extra behinds to lead 3.5 (23) to 3.1 (19) at the first break.

The home side took full control in the next quarter though, rallying eight scoring shots for a return of four goals, as James Auld notched his third for the half, to put the red and white in front by four at half time.

Like a gripping finals scenario, it was a matter of who wanted it more, and who could execute on the big occasion.

The Swans would be the team to execute.

Sharp shooting in front of goal, compared to wayward efforts from the yellow and black, saw the Swans soar to a two-goal lead, kicking a tidy 3.1 in the term to a wasteful 1.5 from Rochester.

There was one last push to come from the Tigers in the final term however.

The Tigers snagged the first in the last, before Lucas Rachele and Auld extended the lead to 17 points.

A pair of goals followed a pair of behinds for Rochester, reducing the deficit to three as the match headed into red time.

Desperation was high and every one percenter counted as the Tigers hunted one last goal to pinch victory from the jaws of defeat.

But like a free-to-air weeknight timeslot, it was the Simpsons that put on a show late for the Swans family to enjoy at home.

Harper and Steele Simpson put the Tigers to bed as the clock ticked up, returning the margin out to an insurmountable 16 points, the Swans returning into the top six equation with a 14.7 (91) to 10.15 (75) victory.

Auld finished with four goals, while Rachele (three), Andrew Riordan and Simpson (two) were the other multiple goal kickers for Shepp.

Zac Clohesy was named best afield for the victors, while Mitch Cricelli made a successful return to the seniors after spending the bulk of the season out injured, named in Rochester’s best in his comeback.

The win moves the Swans into sixth at the close of round 16, with games against Seymour and Benalla to come, while Rochester are two premiership points and percentage outside of the equation in eighth, with games against Euroa and Shepparton to finish its campaign.

It sets the Tigers an unlikely task to return to September - Rochester must either win both games and hope Shepparton United (seventh) and the Swans lose at least one in their runs home, or have the Demons and Swans lose both their final pair while winning once in its last fortnight.

It’s still doable for the Tigers, but they will now be reliant on other results falling their way if they are to climb the ladder.

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Friday, 17th March 2028

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