In a tough outing for the under-manned Benalla Saints, the Kyabram Bombers secured a comprehensive 51-point victory at Kyabram Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The final scoreline read 15.13 (103) to Benalla’s 7.10 (52), with the Bombers maintaining consistent scoreboard pressure right throughout the Goulburn Valley League game.
From the opening bounce, Kyabram established control, putting 27 first quarter points on the board to Benalla's 14. The Saints hung around in the second quarter, going into the main break behind by just four kicks.
“Kyabram have been a strong outfit for a number of years, and we were thereabouts until half time and then let it go in the third quarter,” Benalla coach Jarrad Waite said.
That third quarter saw Kyabram truly assert their authority, kicking seven goals to just two, leaving the Saints with a mountain to climb in the final term.
“They (Kyabram) then had that middle period in the third quarter where they banked a couple of goals and that was basically it in a nutshell unfortunately,” Waite said.
Benalla could only match Kyabram's 2.2 in the last quarter, ending the day with a disappointing 51-point margin.
With nine senior players missing Waite and the Saints took the opportunity to blood some of the club’s youngsters and was pleased with the result.
“We had a couple of players come up from the reserves, young Ryan Storer came in for his first game and from a club perspective that’s good to have our third player this season come up from the under-18’s, he didn’t look out of place,” Waite said.
Nick Brazil did all he could, contributing four goals in a losing effort, Waite also adding that Nick Mellington notched another great game to his impressive season to date.
Overall, it was a day where Kyabram's class was on full display, leaving Benalla with valuable lessons to take forward for the remaining eight weeks of the season.
“We’ll drop an easy mark or miss a simple kick which proves the difference a lot of the time, which has been the story of our year at the moment, but we are working hard to solve that,” Waite said.
“Scores from turnovers is another thing we are trying to nullify as we are giving up too many points that way.”
Following Round 10, Benalla finds itself in 11th position following the loss, four-and-a-half wins outside of a finals spot.
Waite remains positive at the mid-way point of the season, heading the clash with bottom-of-the-table Tatura Bulldogs.
“We are definitely showing signs of improvement we just need to keep doing the work and it will turn around for us,” he said.
With the return of some senior players and some real positives to take away from the defeat to Kyabram, it gives the side a real chance to snag their second win of the year and propel them in the right direction towards the dream of finals footy.