Haisman Shield ǀ Mooroopna goes back-to-back with stunning grand final win over Kyabram

Openers Jac Smith-Williams (21) and Brodie McDonald (16) got to work in weathering the storm Kyabram’s strike bowlers brought early, with Jackson and Charlie McLay keeping it tight at either end.

Smith-Williams and McDonald withstood significant early pressure, before McLay handed the ball to his spin option, Kaine Herbert, who struck with his first ball to clean bowl McDonald.

Alec Young stepped in two overs later to remove Paul McDonald for a duck, with Smith-Williams and Brady Mulcahy gone not long after, the Cats suddenly on the ropes at 4-38.

Luke Zanchetta entered the fray alongside young gun Ethan Anderson, the two from the Top End hoping to stabilise a shaky Mooroopna innings.

The Redbacks’ spinners did the damage again, however, with Herbert dismissing Zanchetta, before Darin Ohlsen lured Anderson into a loose shot straight to cover which Kyle Mueller gladly pouched; the Cats now staring down the barrel at 6-54.

If there was ever a time for a captain’s knock, it was then, and O’Brien duly delivered.

The Cats’ skipper rose to the occasion to produce 23, forging a much-needed partnership with Luscombe medallist Jake Wright, who compiled a vital 39 off 46 to see their total surge past the 100 mark.

With 127 on the board for the Redbacks to chase, there was little to separate the two sides as the Cats prepared to unleash their bowlers.

Redbacks openers Billy McLay and Paul Newman went about their work, before the ever-reliable Zanchetta struck to remove Newman in the eighth over, dashing hopes of an inspiring score from the Kyabram stalwart.

Kyle and Cade Mueller hung tough through the middle after McLay brothers Charlie and Billy were sent packing, but runs quickly dried up thanks to some incredibly restrictive Jack Gaskill (1-8) bowling.

Mooroopna squeezed in the 38th over with the Redbacks at 4-88, with Fitzgerald and Herbert back in the sheds in quick succession thanks to some Brad Boyle spin trickery.

From there, the Redbacks’ game hedged largely on their skipper, Mueller and co needing quick runs as the game looked to be escaping them.

An incredible bit of fielding from O’Brien in the 42nd over would break Kyabram’s hearts, as the Cats’ skipper collected the ball at covers to launch and hit the stumps with Mueller pulling up well short.

Despite his nerves being tested, O’Brien praised his side’s execution in the closing stages of the game.

“It was a nail-biter, the boys did a great job of just getting it done at the end of the day,” O’Brien said.

“Our batting didn’t quite go as planned, but Jakey really gave us a platform to work off and a few boys batted around him which was nice.”

The skipper was full of praise for his star all-rounder, whose performances he said did not always get the recognition they deserved.

“He was fantastic, he’s a cricketer that for some reason goes under the radar, but in my eyes he’s in the top few cricketers in the comp,” O’Brien said.

“And yet again — he did it last year in the grand final and took four, and this year he’s made 39 and one and he’s involved in two run-outs, just shows the calibre of cricketer he is and how lucky we are to have him.”

The side is the first to go back-to-back for the Cats since Greg Luscombe's 1991-92 and 1992-93 outfit, taking home the club’s 10th Haisman Shield in the process.