The Murray Bombers will head to Tatura on Sunday for a do-or-die semi-final against Nathalia, a familiar opponent given the defending champions matched up with the Purples last week.
The round 14 clash at Nathalia Recreation Reserve saw Echuca establish dominance early on, grabbing four goals in the first quarter for an early advantage.
Nathalia kicked its first major in the second to keep the margin steady at 24 points after the Murray Bombers also managed a single goal in the quarter.
Echuca cruised home from there, holding the Purples scoreless in the second half to record a 7.2 (44) to 1.1 (7) final scoreline.
The result bodes well for the premier’s hopes to advance to a fifth consecutive grand final, as the win also secured it the minor premiership.
The Murray Bombers (14-2) just edged out competition newcomer Mansfield (11-2-1) for the top spot and, should they advance on Sunday, will meet either the Eagles or the other side that handed them a defeat this year, Shepparton United.
It has been a more impressive than usual season for the historically dominant Echuca, who had to deal with about a dozen premiership players not returning for this year’s campaign.
“You win a premiership and you lose a dozen or so girls who have been around for four or five years or longer,” Echuca coach Damien Dalziel said.
“They move on to kids and family life and all that and then you’ve got to try to recruit.
“Recruiting is pretty hard when you’ve got nothing to really offer in the ways of paying players or anything like that, so we were relying on people coming into the town.
“We’ve pushed through it all year. Most weeks it’s 14 to 16 girls. We had, I think, 20 on the weekend, which has been our best for the year (in) the final game.
“There are girls (that have) come in that have had no football experience. (We had to) start with the build them up and teach them football (and) we’ve just ended up finishing on top of the ladder.
“It’s been pretty tough, but the ones that stayed on and played from last year and previous years have really led and guided the girls on the field, and so to date, the season’s been really successful.”
Dalziel indicated the side would pare back to a simple game style with the relatively fresh-faced squad, and it’s a strategy that has paid dividends as the team has developed its players over the season while maintaining a level of success similar to past years.
“It’s a massive process to educate (the new players) on handballing, kicking and marking, all elements whilst trying to support them the whole way through,” he said
“Some girls come in and within two weeks you can see the change in their football, the way they go about it.
“It’s just educating the best that we can and the support staff, assistants and all that have been really good taking one-on-ones and practice kicking and set shots at goals.
“(We’re) finding spots where they’re going to adapt to and really honing in on those areas.”
As the squad has grown, inexperienced players have been able to step in and make more significant contributions.
“If you’re a forward, we work out a routine to kick goals, and they’ve all flourished, and (we’re) not relying on two girls to kick goals now,” Dalziel said.
“We’ve got six girls kicking one or two goals, which for us is fantastic because the focus isn’t on the main forward line.
“Paige (Baksh) has kicked 50 goals this year, but there are girls kicking one or two around her.
“Paige is up the ground doing the work and had three goals on the weekend and someone else from midfield goes forward and kicks one or two.
“There are girls that are constantly evolving.”
Echuca takes on Nathalia in a Goulburn Murray Women’s League semi-final at Tatura Park at 1pm on Sunday.
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