Rebounding from a shock last home-and-away round loss to Shepparton Swans, Kyabram hit back to win the Goulburn Valley League qualifying final comfortably against Rochester under lights at Rochester on Saturday.
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A huge crowd watched the Bombers take control from the second quarter and outplay their hosts from then on to post a 42-point win, 13.13 to 7.7.
Bolstered by the return of star players Jason Morgan, Brad Whitford, Josh Dillon and Anthony Depasquale, the Bombers were able to answer every challenge the home side put to them in a clinical display.
Kyabram now meets Mansfield this Saturday with a berth in the grand final the prize for the winner.
Kyabram co-coach Corey Carver had one word to sum up why his team won so handsomely: pressure.
‘‘We applied it all day and forced them into errors. It was a top team effort against a good side with everyone contributing,’’ Carver said.
The Bombers looked a much more potent side with its returnees, particularly Morgan and Whitford in defence.
Dillon added the extra grunt at the coalface and Depasquale did his job with two goals, with better things to come, considering he hadn’t played for six weeks.
Tom Holman at full forward presented all day and finished with five goals, four of them putting the nail in Rochester coffin in the last term.
But it was Kyabram’s crack onball brigade headed by ruckman Zac Norris and skilful and hard-running players Mick Mattingly, Archie Watt, Kaine Herbert, Jack Russell and Coby McCarthy who did the major damage in the win.
But it was also another spirited team effort, with most players contributing.
Whitford and Morgan got plenty of support from Aidan Robinson, Cooper Vick, Jack Sheldon and Jake Parkinson in defence, who were able to shut down the potential Rochester match-winners.
Liam Ogden in his third appearance for the season was in everything until forced from the ground early in the game with a corked thigh while Russell and Whitford also spent time on the sidelines with leg injuries but should come up for this weekend’s assignment.
Angus Scoble on a wing and Nic Jephson in attack were the best of the young brigade.
Rochester’s bid was led by Ryan O’Keefe, Matt Kellett and Mitchell Trewhella, with Hugh Hamilton and Hamish Hooppell doing telling work at times.
My best for Kyabram were Mick Mattingly, Archie Watt, Tom Holman, Aidan Robinson, Zac Norris, Jack Russell, Josh Dillon.
• Kyabram’s reserves staged another big finish to run away from the Shepparton Swans in their qualifying final clash at Benalla on Sunday.
As they did the previous week against the same side, the Bombers put the foot down in the last term, kicking 6.4 while restricting the Swans to 0.2 to run out winners by 48 points.
But up to three-quarter time the Swans hung in tenaciously and the result was in the balance going into the last term with Kyabram holding a 10-point lead.
Onballers and midfielders in skipper Jayden Fitzgeald and Zac Cerrone and Sam Vick and Sam Sheldon in defence were prominent in the revival.
Fitzgerald kicked two inspiring goals and Cerrone was arguably Kyabram’s best player for four quarters.
Kyabram had eight individual goalkickers on the day, with Fitzgerald the only multiple goalkicker.
Experienced former senior coach Brad Edwards at centre half forward also was a telling player and reliable target on the day.
‘‘We were pretty lazy for three quarters but really finished off well,’’ co-coach Sean Dillon said.
Dillon said the selectors’ task would only get tougher from now with star goalkicker and long-serving captain Will Wild and also tenacious rover Mitch Gugliotti ready to come back into the side.
• Kyabram’s thirds almost did what the pundits thought was impossible — beat white-hot premiership favourite Shepparton — in their qualifying final clash at Rochester on Saturday.
The Bears scrambled home by four points — 10.11 to 10.7 — against the tenacious young Bombers, who took the first quarter to realise they could match their much-lauded rival.
The Bombers edged their way back into game mainly through the efforts of class acts Lachlan Carver, Tyler Norman, Nathan Kuiper and Isaiah Scoble while Tyler Doolan, Braith Northausen and Oliver Barnett and Nic Smart were also prominent.
Hamish Stewart’s two second-quarter goals were also vital contributions in the Kyabram fightback while Dylan Priest and Lachy Carver also spit the goal posts twice to help keep their side in it.
Kyabram’s effort was all the more meritorious as it lost a key prime mover in Charlie Isaac early in the game with an ankle injury. He was dominating the ruck duels at the time.
But he is likely to miss this week’s cut-throat final against Mooroopna with Norman and Cooper Learmonth, who also sustained ankle injuries in the game, also doubtful along with spearhead Hamish Stewart, who a pulled hamstring in the last term.
• Kyabram’s Under 14 side bowed out of the flag race last Sunday when pipped by four points by Echuca Green in a preliminary final thriller at Tongala.
‘‘We were pressing hard at the finish but just couldn’t get the goal we needed,“ Kyabram coach Brenton Sheppard said.
‘‘It was a cracking game, just didn’t go our way.’’
Midfielders Sam Stokes and Billy Isaac starred for Kyabram along with forward Archie Sheppard.
Jack Halstead, Riley Nicholson, Nate Willis, Sam Stokes, Clayton Wilson and Cooper Fisher also did a lot of work to keep their side in the game.
• Kyabram Football Club fans will get to see their three football teams in action on the one day at the one venue this Saturday.
The Bombers meet Mansfield in the senior game and Seymour in the reserves, with the losers remaining in the premiership fight via the preliminary final path.
But the Bomber thirds have to beat Mooroopna in their first semi-final clash to keep their flag hopes alive.
Saturday’s GVL finals
9.30am: Kyabram v Mooroopna (first semi-final)
12.30pm: Kyabram v Seymour (second semi-final)
2.30pm: Kyabram v Mansfield (second semi-final)