The Bombers took flight early and eventually disposed of a gritty Shepparton Swans by 52 points in their round five encounter at Princess Park, Shepparton.
Tom Holman and Cooper Vick with five goals each and Anthony Depasquale with four majors ensured Kyabram had a steady flow of goals coming for most of the game.
Holman set the mood early with two goals in the first few minutes of the game and although they challenged Kyabram at times the Swans never looked like taking control at any stage on the scoreboard.
Holman, Vick and Depasquale did most of the finishing-off work from the efforts of midfielders in Zac Keogh, Kaine Herbert and big man Jake Reeves after half time .
Keogh, back after missing the Benalla game, was in everything and is the key playmaker in this Kyabram side in which Herbert is also a prime mover with his tireless work ethic.
Other midfielders in Nic Denahy after half time and Billy McLay also initiated a lot of Kyabram’s successful forward moves.
Ageless key defender Jason Morgan again led the Kyabram defence in inspirational fashion.
His one-on-one marking was a highlight and he is enjoying another standout season.
Kyabram ruckmen Zac Norris and Reeves didn’t get it all their own way against the Swans’ gun big man Mitch Bell, but when he left the ground early in the third term and didn’t return, Reeves virtually did what he pleased in the second half.
The Swans were boosted by a couple of Murray Bushrangers in Max Clohesy and Joeve Cooper, the return of the experienced stars in BJ Squire and Quade Johnstone, but the Bombers also had some key personnel missing.
The win has to be put into perspective, given the Swans are unlikely to be finalists.
Kyabram will get a much better indication of how it is travelling over the next two weeks when it hosts Seymour and Euroa, two sides tipped to make a serious play for this year’s flag, in the next two games.
Kyabram coach Paul Newman was happy with the overall result but not how his team defended the ground in the first half after the initial onslaught.
‘‘We were a bit slack in the first half after the good start but much better after half-time,’’ Newman said.
My best for Kyabram were: Tom Holman, Jason Morgan, Zac Keogh, Cooper Vick, Kaine Herbert, Anthony Depasquale, Jake Reeves.
- The unbeaten Kyabram reserves overcame a slow start to overwhelm the Swans by 121 points.
The Swans held a one-point lead at quarter time but managed only 1.1 for the remainder of the game as Kyabram piled on 19.15.
Kyabram ruckman Mitch Fitzgerald and onballer Kaleb Williams dominated along with key forward Will Wild, who kicked six goals.
Billy Ryan, Mitch Dodos and Ethan Palma-Ludeman also chipped in with three goals each to keep the Kyabram scoreline ticking over.
Ben Holman also turned in a top game and along with Blake McAuliffe while Riley Gallivan who had played in the thirds’ game also did some good work on a wing.
Big men in Jack Dunn and Brendan Brasier also did a lot of telling work to keep Ky rumbling.
- Kyabram’s thirds went down a point in a thrilling encounter.
The Bombers had more than their share of the play but couldn’t maximise their chances around goals and paid the penalty.
Defenders Jordan O’Neill and Jack Millar worked tirelessly all game, as did ruckman Mitch Dodos.
Darcy Backway and Oliver Watt also turned in good games in the narrow defeat.
- Kyabram’s under-16s were dealt a football lesson by an impressive, slick-moving Swans outfit.
It was one-way traffic for nearly all the game as the Swans kicked 16.24 to the young Bombers’ 1.3.
Kyabram lost out in most positions on the ground and Liam Mason, Tyler Norman, Thomas Withall, Shaun Doolan and Ky Kane were the only players to get into action at times.
