On the back of four straight wins to end the Goulburn Valley League home and away season Kyabram entered Mooroopna Recreation Reserve looking to make a league-wide statement Saturday evening.
This goal was achieved and exceeded in an opening 25-minute stanza that sometimes made it appear only one team had emerged from the sheds.
Last week in The News, outgoing Mansfield coach Chad Owens identified the need to keep Bombers star ruckman Zac Norris from being able to “get on it straight out of the ruck”.
Alas, Norris is hardly one to fold quickly.
The big man was heavily influential on the ground in the early going, amassing seven contested possessions, four inside 50s and five clearances, defining a mesmerising spell of Kyabram football.
Kyabram’s Q1 v Mansfield
Disposals: 72-54
Marks inside 50: 7-2
Defensive 50 exit efficiency: 71% - 40%
Kicking efficiency: 69% - 54%
Total ground ball gets: 28-18
The final of these five first-quarter stats is arguably the most telling, as Kyabram would go on to win the statistic by only five at the final siren amidst Mansfield’s increased attack at the contest.
It stands paramount to the extent with which Kyabram’s midfielders, helped in large part by opening goal-scorer Kaine Herbert, had the first crack when the ball spilled loose even without registering a majority of clearances.
To complement the Bombers’ unrelenting forward pressure, it would be 23 minutes before the Eagles would find a target inside 50.
In this same period, no less than six Kyabram players looked at goal by marking in the arc, with only their inaccuracy (2.3 from this source) costing them a monumental advantage on the scoreboard, a fact that winning coach Paul Newman regretted in his post-match interview.
The dangerous duo of Ben Christopher and Cam Arnold, highlighted by Newman in our News preview, were primarily denied any chance at generating momentum until the dying minutes of the term to give Kyabram something to think about at the first change.
Ultimately, though, despite the spirited display that would have the Eagles overcome a deficit of more than four goals to lead during the final term briefly, the damage inflicted by the Bombers’ total control in the opening act was more than pivotal in shaping their eventual victory.