Renowned for their outstanding defensive structure throughout the first half of the season, the Eagles were simply overawed by the talent of Euroa last week and found themselves unable to stop the class of Ben Giobbi, who slotted five crucial goals.
Owens said his side learnt a lot about itself last week and was eager to respond in this crunch clash with the Bombers.
“We just didn’t hunt the contest, we were second to the ball, in ground ball gets they smashed us and they nearly doubled us on inside-50s,” he said.
“Some of the boys were saying this week they haven’t beaten Ky since 2019, we need to atone for last week, but we realise we can’t change last week’s result.”
Kyabram’s form during the past fortnight has been somewhat uninspiring, registering 40-point and 11-point victories over Shepparton United and Shepparton at Deakin Reserve.
But now returning to its Kyabram fortress, Owens said he was expecting an incredibly tough challenge.
“It’s hard to take too much out of that, if they had kicked straight they would have won that by a lot more,’’ he said.
“We’re excited for the challenge.”
The Eagles welcome back goal-sneak Will Foster this week, with Will Chiller and Tas Clingan also tipped to return to the Eagles’ back six after recovering from knocks they suffered in round eight at Mooroopna.
Elsewhere, a red-hot Euroa will be looking to extend its winning streak to eight as it plays host to an undermanned Rochester.
Missing up to 14 senior players in last week’s home loss to Seymour, Rochester coach Steven Stroobants said the injury crisis opened up opportunities for the club’s youth.
“We’ve got a little bit of injury worries going on, so we will look to put together a strong team and go to Euroa to play our style of footy,” Stroobants said.
“I think it’s just a great opportunity for guys to come in and show they’re up to playing seniors.
“It creates more depth if they can play, creates more consistency for the other guys on the fringe and puts a bit more pressure on spots.”
After missing last week, Stroobants said he was hopeful of making a return, while the likes of James and Adam McPhee, Chris Jansen, Nick O’Connor and Charles Ward were also in line to face the Magpies.
A resurgent Seymour travels to Tatura in search of a fourth straight win.
Slowly bringing their best 22 back on to the park, last week’s win against Rochester served as a turning point in the Lions’ season as they gear up for a late-season surge.
Seymour coach Ben Davey said it was vital his team continued its improvement in what was a danger game away from home.
“We have got a bit of confidence, but travelling to another team’s home deck you have always got to be wary,” Davey said.
“They too will be confident after having a win last week, so we come into this game expecting a tight contest.”
The Lions will be forced into three changes, with Nick Quigg, James Wooster and Harley Taylor-Lloyd unavailable for the trip to Tatura Park, with Michael Hartley and Kyle Winter-Irving two of the likely replacements.
Tatura coach Paul Kirby said four quarters of competitive football was all he was hoping to see from his team this weekend.
Favourite son Sean Martin and ring-ins Kuiy Jiath and Mutaz El Nour will return to the Northern Bullants, while Curtis Ryan and Aubrey Coote return to the Bulldogs’ line-up.
Shepparton United plays host to ladder-leader Echuca.
After falling to Tatura last week, the Demons will be down three key players, with Joel Serra and Mitch Oliver succumbing to injury and Oscar Ryan going back to the Murray Bushrangers.
Echuca on the other hand will be looking to keep the good times rolling and escape Deakin Reserve with a big win.
Meanwhile, Benalla and Shepparton round out the weekend’s action at Benalla Showgrounds, with the Saints eager to add a second win to their season’s tally.
