The Bears booted seven goals during the premiership quarter, transforming a nine-point half-time advantage into a commanding lead before completing an 12.13 (85) to 7.9 (51) win in round 15 of the Goulburn Valley League.
There was little between the sides throughout the opening half, with Shepparton leading by 13 points at quarter-time after keeping the Swans goalless in the first term.
Ryan Ash and Lewis McShane found the big sticks for the Bears as they established an early 2.3 (15) to 0.2 (2) advantage.
The Swans responded in the second quarter through Lucas Rachele and James Auld, restricting Shepparton to one goal and cutting the deficit to nine points by the main break.
Archer Hueston kicked the Bears’ lone major for the term, sending his side into the rooms ahead 3.7 (25) to 2.4 (16).
Any hopes the Swans had of completing the comeback were emphatically dashed after half-time.
Shepparton piled on 7.3 during a match-defining third quarter, with Luke Smith, Lachlan Ludeman, McShane, Hueston, Connor Fleming and Liam Teague all contributing majors.
Fleming kicked two for the term, while Hueston and McShane took their respective totals to two as the Bears stretched their lead to 34 points at the final change.
The Swans did manage three goals of their own through Sam Bicknell, Nathan Rachele and Izaak Rossignuolo, but could not slow Shepparton’s attacking momentum as the margin ballooned to 70-36.
Both teams added 2.3 during an even final quarter, with Hueston completing a strong individual outing by kicking his third goal and Trent Herbert also converting for the Bears.
Bicknell and Lucas Rachele responded for the Swans, each finishing the afternoon with two majors, but the result had already been settled by Shepparton’s dominant third-term display.
The victory further strengthened Shepparton’s grip on top spot, moving the Bears four points clear of Echuca with a 14-1 record after 15 rounds.
For the seventh-placed Swans, the defeat was a setback but far from fatal to their finals hopes, with only two points separating them from the three sides locked together on 32 points from fourth to sixth.
Reflecting on the loss, Swans coach Linc Sullivan felt there were positives to take as his side aims to resume its finals push next time out against Rochester.
“There were definitely positives, against Shepp United we showed a version of ourselves that was very poor,” he said.
“So we re-grouped and re-assessed and realized we’re still very much in the finals race - we’ve got to win the last three, the objective now is pretty simple for us.
“We’re still there and it was a better performance (against the Bears) - our intent and energy around the footy was great.
“I was happy with the overall team performance and I think the group was good overall, they all played their part.”
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