Registering two majors to three-quarter time, the Bushies came alive in the last, executing their free-flowing style of play to perfection to double their score and tie things with minutes remaining.
But reminiscent of their loss to Geelong Falcons in round two, a clutch major for Kyla Forbes in the dying seconds gifted Calder the four points after they led for almost the entirety of the afternoon.
Murray Bushrangers assistant coach Mario de Santa-Ana said it was a case of too little too late from the girls in the end.
“The message we passed on to the girls was that you can’t expect to win games of football at this level in one quarter,” de Santa-Ana said.
“It requires a consistent effort over the four quarters and, I think it was very obvious, in the first three that our decision-making left a bit to be desired and our structure wasn’t up to the standards the Bushies believe they should have.
“The last quarter, on the other hand, was just quality football at the highest level, the transition out of the centre clearance into our key forwards was spot on, there was no errors, it was clean, it was crisp and that’s the way we want to play, and we showed in that quarter we can match any side when we bring that.”
Eager to atone for their final-quarter fadeout against ladder-leader Dandenong the previous week, it was a flat start from the Bushrangers, who after coughing up the first two goals, went into the first change seven points behind.
In need of a boost, it seemed the Bushies were back on track early in the second when Mindy Quade trimmed the margin back to two points midway through the term.
But from there it was a procession for the Cannons, who stretched the margin out to nine by half-time, before kicking two unanswered goals in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 19 at the final change.
At risk of suffering their second heavy defeat in as many weeks, the Bushrangers came out a different team in the fourth quarter, playing an attractive game style full of attacking flair to even the scores with four quick goals.
But it wasn’t to be for the Bushies, with some late Calder heroics gifting it a memorable win.
While she couldn’t get her side over the line, captain Keeley Skepper was clearly best-on-ground, dominating through the midfield with 32 disposals, while Cassidy Mailer continued her bright season with 24 possessions and a goal.
“They are both in great form, over the past month they have consistently been putting in good performances and that is what it takes at this level to present yourself to recruiters and clubs up the line,” de Santa-Ana said of Skepper’s and Mailer’s performances.
“Keeley as captain was just superb picking up 32 and having four tackles, while Cassidy was rotating with Keeley from half-back to the midfield and was huge as well, the pair didn’t come off the ground and just played four quarters of solid running football.
“We were also pretty happy with Olivia Cicolini who’s a Shepparton United girl, she had a super game as a pressure forward registering 10 tackles while also giving us a boost through the midfield.”
