Late goals by Tom Holman and Zac Keogh were enough to book a finals spot for the Kyabram Bombers in this weekend’s Goulburn Valley League finals.
Had the Bombers not kicked those last two goals against Shepparton Swans at GV Creamery Oval on Saturday, Seymour would have replaced them in the top six.
That’s how tight the percentage battle for sixth spot was after Seymour had kept Shepparton United goalless in the game at Seymour.
Kyabram finished with 142.56 per cent and Seymour 142.37 per cent, both teams registering 11 wins for the season.
‘‘If they (Swans) had kicked one more goal we would have had to kick another two or we would have missed out (on a finals spot). That’s how it tight it was,’’ Kyabram coach Paul Newman said.
Kyabram and Seymour shared the same premiership points going into the final round of the home-and-away season and after Saturday’s result the Bombers have earned a place in a sudden-death elimination final against Euroa at Tatura this Saturday.
The Bombers looked rusty early on Saturday and didn’t kick their first goal until early in the second term.
They gradually got their act together as the game progressed and ran out winners by 69 points.
Cooper Vick was the player to finally kick-start the Bombers with their first two goals of the game and although they had to fight for every goal they gradually were able to apply the scoreboard pressure, to get the win and remain in the flag fight.
A telling move for the Bombers was Zac Keogh’s shift from up forward on to the ball where ruckman Zac Norris and Kaine Herbert held sway for most of the game.
Riley Ironside was also able to make an impression in the midfield as the game wore on, while Jason Morgan again held the defence together with top support from Brad Whitford and Billy Barnes.
Lachie Smith was held in the first term before being moved into defence in the second term. He then stamped his authority on the game with three third-quarter goals when returned to the forward line.
My best for Kyabram were Jason Morgan, Zac Norris, Kaine Herbert, Zac Keogh, Brad Whitford, Josh Dillon, Riley Ironside and Cooper Vick.
∎ Kyabram reserves had a good tune up for the finals with a runaway win.
The minor premier romped home by 136 points and now meets Euroa in a qualifying final this weekend.
Kyabram established its superiority early with a six-goal-to-one opening term and kept the foot down for most of the game.
Jarryd Pertzel (six goals), Mitch Fizgerald, James Curnow and Ethan Palma-Ludeman, all with three majors, did the finishing off work at the goalmouth, which made for the one-sided affair.
Big-men Fitzgerald and Brodie Thomson were also prominent all day while Mitch Gugliotti, Blake McAuliffe, Ryan Hatch, Brodie Easton and Liam Dillon were key playmakers in setting up the scoring opportunities in what was a good team effort.
∎ Kyabram’s thirds put up a spirited fight, conceding only in the final 10 minutes to go down by 13 points in a dour struggle against the higher-ranked Swans.
Skipper Liam Francis worked tirelessly on ball to lead his side and Bohden Learmonth, Luke Smith and Darcy Backway also stood out in keeping the young Bombers in the game.
Reve Torney and Ethan Hart and Ben Railton also did a lot of good work for the Bombers, who will now play in an elimination final against Mansfield this weekend.
∎ Kyabram’s Under-16 side had a morale-boosting win heading into the finals, getting over the third-placed Shepparton Swans by 14 points.
The young Bombers’ cause was helped by inaccuracy at the goalfront by the Swans, but a lot of that was caused by the pressure the young Bombers applied.
Standouts for Kyabram were Archie Watt, Angus Scoble and Cohan Cooper while Max Carroll and Lachlan Carver also had good games in a fighting team effort.