Tatura coach Reno Lia is not thinking defensively as his team puts second place on the line against charging Shepparton in Goulburn North East Football Association on Sunday.

The Reds and Ibises meet in a re-match of round four's firey 5-0 win to Tatura where three players were shown red cards in the opening minutes.

Tatura enters the match second with 17 points on the ladder, ahead of Shepparton United and Shepparton on 12 points each in third and fourth respectively.

"I'm not thinking about defending second spot," Lia said.

"I've never instructed (players) to man mark, we just work on our defensive strategies.

"I know our defenders are tight.

"Like the Shepparton South game this is a big match and our team is ready for the experience."

Tatura was 1-0 up in round four when a brawl ended in red cards for Carmelo Bazzano and Shepparton pair Troy Kennedy and Johnny Davkovski.

Bazzano has since been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, needing a knee reconstruction on his left knee having previously undergone the same operation on his right.

Melbourne-based player and former Bentleigh Green Andrew Charalambous debuted as a replacement exradius player for Bazzano in Tatura's 5-0 win against Kialla United last week.

"Andrew is a friend of (Tatura player) Terry Kappadais," Lia said.

"I coached him at Bentleigh in the premier league in 1996 and hadn't seen him for some time.

"I'm more into the home-based players, but when Bazzano went down the club looked into bringing someone in."

In other matches, Shepparton United will also try to bridge the gap to second when it plays Kialla United at Vibert Reserve, while Cobram's finals chances go on the line when it travels to Numurkah.

Teo Pellizzeri, Shepparton News, Friday, July 3.

Shepparton South will have leading striker Maddy McGuffie for just one more game as it takes on Benalla in women's Goulburn North East Football Assocation at Churchill Reserve on Sunday.

McGuffie will lead the line-up on Sunday one last time before a toe operation next week which will keep her off the field for about two weeks.

A South outfit short on experience will be defending second place on the ladder against the fourth-placed Rovers.

South has 19 points in second on the ladder, one behind leader Shepparton, three ahead of third-placed Shepparton United and five ahead of Benalla.

The Southerners will be without senior players Katie Baker and best-and-fairest of last year Beth Kilmartin, meaning its young talents from the junior girls team will have to fill big shoes in midfield and defence.

The Rovers gave up third place to United with a 2-0 defeat last week and will be looking to turn around its fortunes against the South team it drew 2-2 at McEwen Reserve earlier in the season.

Waiting outside the top four to jump in are Tatura on 13 points and Cobram Victory on 11.

The Ibises take on Shepparton at Mercury Dve, with the Reds looking to consolidate top spot after winning it back from South last weekend.

Victory also has a chance to put pressure on the top teams as it hosts Kyabram, themselves still looking for a first win of the year after a narrow loss to Numurkah last week.

In the weekend's other match seventhplaced Numurkah hosts eighth-placed Cobram in a last-chance match for both teams' finals aspirations. Numurkah has eight points, six off top four pace, while Cobram is one point behind the Knights.

Teo Pellizzeri, Shepparton News, Friday, July 3.

Junior coach Steve Bognar has credited the leadership in his under 13 Goulburn North East Football Association representative team as the reason it came away from Swan Hill with a title.

The under-13 boys had to settle for a shared title after drawing the final of the under-13 B-grade 1-1 with Sunraysia, but did win against the team twice during the tournament.

Bognar said his two team leaders Matt Sorrenti and Trent Dimitropoulos had been a big reason the whole team was able to lift and contribute at Swan Hill.

"I think the reason we got where we did was because we just had a very committed and well disciplined side," Bognar said.

"I like to see leadership develop within the team, as the tournament went on I left a lot of the motivation to them (Matt and Trent).

"It was great how the team responded to them, we came away saying we were the winners."

There were four country championship first-timers in the Goulburn association squad, Bognar saying they all rose to the occasion of three taxing matches a day.

"The grand final itself was a really good spectacle. I think it was the belief, we just seemed to control it."

Meanwhile, the under 11s finished runner-up in the pool behind eventual champion Bendigo and the under 12s finished third in the A division of the under 12s after winning their final group game against SJSA 2-1.

Teo Pellizzeri, Shepparton News, Friday, July 3.

Shepparton South had goalkeeper Robbie Taylor to thank on Sunday for protecting his team's big lead at the top of Goulburn North East Football Association after a 2-0 win against Cobram Victory.

Goals either side of half-time to John Stokes and Joel Aitken gave South the win and kept the Southerners five points clear of Tatura at the top of the league table.

Taylor, back in the South team after missing a match with illness, made vital first half saves to keep the score 0-0 before a late penalty put the ladder leader in control.

The Scot stopped a shot from Victory's Joey Crea with his legs when the Victory player shrugged three South defenders, then backed it up by tipping a powerful effort from Cameron Miles around the post.

Connor Campbell worked hard for South in midfield and crafted the opening for the game's first goal when his long ball to Stuart Vance set up an opportunity at the top of the penalty area.

Legged in the box, Vance won a spot-kick for South which Stokes duly converted just a minute before the half time whistle.

Aitken's goal in the second half kept South safe on top, although Tatura made a big move to hold onto second place with a 5-0 thumping of Kialla United at Howley Oval.

The Ibises opened a five-point gap from third-placed Shepparton United with the big win, with its regular goal-scorers again getting the job done - Spiro Vourgaslis scored a hat-trick and David Turkovic a double.

Teo Pellizzeri, Shepparton News, Tuesday, June 30.

Duncan Whitlam's second double in as many games had Shepparton singing the club song on Sunday as the Reds powered back into the top four of Goulburn North East Football Association with a 3-0 win against Cobram.

Shepparton's victory has the reigning premier sitting ominously in fourth place with 12 points and a level goal difference, behind Shepparton United by just one goal's difference and five points behind Tatura.

A draw would have been enough for Cobram to take fourth place but the Tigers' defeat has dropped it to sixth on the ladder with 10 points, level with fifth-placed Cobram Victory.

Shepparton was seventh a month ago but consecutive wins and nine scored to just one conceded has recovered the eight goals Shepparton was behind on goal difference.

Whitlam's double and a first Shepparton goal for fellow English recruit Andy Rushbury buoyed coach Jean-Claude Giuca who is still urging his side to press for a top two finish. Shepparton led 1-0 at half-time and a goal early in the second half saw the game follow a similar pattern to Shepparton's 2-0 win against Cobram earlier in the season where the Tigers had to chase the game.

"Our defence was strong," Giuca said.

"I'm very pleased with Wayne (Skippen), he's slotted straight back in."

Giuca also praised Ayden Murdoch, Troy Kennedy and Johnny Radevski for their accountability keeping Cobram attackers Daniel Genovesi and Frank Bazzano off the scoresheet.

"They had a few chances but didn't capitalise," Giuca said.

"They had to chase the game and we exposed the space.

"I'm not surprised (to be back in the top four so soon), I'm always positive."

Shepparton's win sets up a blockbuster game against Tatura next week, the Ibises started a losing run for Shepparton last time the teams met with a 5-0 win.

Teo Pellizzeri, Shepparton News, Tuesday, June 30.

Shepparton is back on top of the women's Goulburn North East Football Association ladder after a hard fought 2-1 win against Cobram at Cobram Showgrounds on Sunday.

A second half double to Suzan Tanrikulu delivered Shepparton the win and pushed it to 20 points, ahead of Shepparton South on 19.

Tanrikulu scored from a free kick to cancel out Tania Doyle's first-half goal for the Tigers. The forward's second with about 15 minutes remaining was enough to give Shepparton the win even though Cobram pressured the Reds' backline until the end of the match.

The Reds were without suspended defender Dianne Trigila and had to hold on against a Cobram team desperate to stay in the finals mix.

Shepparton coach Leigh Allen said a vital save from goalkeeper Rebecca Bowles fired his team up in the second half and inspired the comeback.

"This is not the first time the team has come from behind after trailing in a game," he said.

"Cobram certainly had the best of the first half.

"It was good to make it a win and not just a draw.

"Lauren Pryor was our best, we got to see her most minutes so far this season and it was good for her confidence."

Cobram's loss left last year's runner-up languishing in 8th on the ladder, seven points off fourth place.

Shepparton returned to the top of the league thanks to Cobram Victory holding Shepparton South to a 1-1 draw.

Maddy McGuffie for South and Hayley Cornish for Victory scored first half goals, with neither side able to break the deadlock after the break.

Shepparton United moved to within a game of the second-placed Southerners as it jumped into the top four with a 2-0 win against Benalla at Central Park.

Goals to Sarah Theobald and Holly Dimstas lifted the Blues to 16 points in third, ahead of Benalla on 14, Tatura on 13 and sixth-placed Victory on 11.

In the weekend's other match, Numurkah defeated Kyabram 3-2 to move to eight points in seventh on the ladder.

Gabby Gasparroni was Numurkah's hat-trick hero, her three goals outdoing strikes from Kyabram's Myrid Bartlett and Kim Kenny.

Teo Pellizzeri, Tuesday, June 30.