It was a Goulburn Valley League elimination final worthy of Saturday night prime-time, but one name stood out above the rest.
Mooroopna midfielder Coby McCarthy was a primary orchestrator on an evening full of swings and roundabouts as his side held off a late surge from Kyabram to ensure one 2023 grand finalist would not return to the big dance.
McCarthy had plenty of friends along the way, but his input on the day was statistically unmatched in a memorable clash on home soil.
Coby climbs above vs Kyabram
Disposals: 33 (76 per cent efficiency)
Score involvements: 7
Marks: 10
Inside-50s: 7
Tackles: 6
A brilliant 176 ranking points made up the final tally on a remarkable four-quarter outing from McCarthy, who has cemented top-10 spots in the competition in a wide raft of categories.
His 33 disposals actually fell slightly short of his season average of 34.5, such is the extent to which the Mooroopna dynamo has found space and possession in a dominant year.
Work-rate, it almost goes without saying, was no problem whatsoever, with McCarthy racking up a game-high inside-50 tally to go with six rebound-50s, outshone in that regard only by Kai Madgwick on the ground.
He burst out of the blocks in the first term with 10 touches and one of his two goals on the night — his goalscoring contribution arguably proving as handy as any effort in the Cats’ seven-point survival.
It was a slightly less effective second term from McCarthy, but the same applied to any number of players on the ground as any and all goal-kicking ability suddenly vanished from both teams, which led to a bevy of unfulfilled forward entries.
Another eight touches alongside four marks and his second goal all wound up on the third-quarter menu as Mooroopna started to ride the wave with a big half-hour where the midfield-forward connection improved dramatically.
As Kyabram muscled back into the contest late in the evening, however, McCarthy saved some of his more pivotal contributions for last, with five of his six rebound-50s coming in the final term.
Managing one of very few Mooroopna clearances in a quarter where the Bombers assailed from stoppages, McCarthy’s two intercepts certainly didn’t hurt the Cats late either.
It was another tremendous showing from a midfielder who’s been used to accruing these kinds of numbers all year-long, with the likes of Madgwick (36 touches), Keelin Betson (20 touches, 22 contested possessions) and Jed Woods (nine clearances, seven tackles, two goals) featuring heavily in a memorable win.