Charlie Barnett booted five goals against Shepparton.
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JORDAN TOWNROW
Kyabram’s unbeaten run continued on Saturday afternoon, but not without a genuine challenge from a brave Shepparton at Kyabram Recreation Reserve.
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The Bombers were made to earn every bit of their 10.15 (75) to 9.12 (66) win in round eight of the Goulburn Valley League, with the visitors applying scoreboard pressure early and refusing to go away until the final siren.
Shepparton jumped the ladder leaders in the opening term, booting 3.1 to 1.3 and taking a 10-point lead into quarter-time.
From there, it became a tug-of-war — and Kyabram coach Corey Carver was full of praise for his side’s ability to respond.
“Just that. Just to respond,” Carver said.
“They played really well, but we started off slowly. Just one of those ones where we had to plug away, just one of those grinds, it’s all it was against a really good opposition — just grind and keep working and in the end we were able to just hold on.”
The Bombers slowly clawed back the deficit with a three-goal second quarter to zero, before surging ahead in the third with 4.4 to 3.4, opening up a three-goal buffer by the final change.
According to Carver, there was no drastic tactical overhaul to shift the momentum — just minor tweaks and better execution under pressure.
“They played well. Shepp’s pressure and tackling was really good, so we knew they were going to be doing that all game,” he said.
“It was just a matter of using the ball a little bit better after quarter time. We were rushing a little bit too much and a little bit manic with ball in hand, so that was a shift, but it was probably working into the game more so.”
“Once we stopped fumbling and turning it over, we were able to score a touch easier, but it was high pressure all day.”
Among the difference-makers was Charlie Barnett, who produced one of his best games of the season with five goals in a low-scoring, hard-fought match.
“He played a great game yesterday,” Carver said.
“They’ve got some quality defenders and they were able to work over our other forwards to be honest, so we needed someone to stand up and it was him.
“He was able to win his one-on-ones and kick really nicely. Without him it could have been a different result.”
The Bears weren’t done, however, charging home in the last with four goals and throwing everything at the Bombers.
“They were coming,” Carver said.
“They just said ‘let’s just go, let’s throw everything at ’em in the last’. Their on-ballers, who are quality players, they got to work and started winning some more at stoppage.”
“It was just a grind — just to stay in there, play our game and see how we go. To be honest, they were coming pretty hard. If there was another 10 minutes, it could have been a different result.”
Now 8-0 and sitting clear on top of the ladder, Kyabram prepares for a challenging three-week stretch against Euroa, Shepparton Swans and Rochester.
“Euroa’s got some quality kids — good young players — and they’ve still got a really good core I reckon,” Carver said.
“Probably the good thing about the year to be honest — every team you play, you know you’ve gotta be on and play well. So yeah, we know we’ll have to be at our best next week.”
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