Tigers break 14-year drought at the Graveyard
Kyneton started the BFNL season in great style eight years back caning the Gisborne Bulldogs by 10 goals at the Gardiner Reserve.
It was the Tigers first win at the Graveyard in 14 seasons and the 19.11 (125) to 10.5 (65) win wasn’t just a victory, it was an absolute thumping.
Early April in 2015, and it wasn’t something the local footy tipsters had expected.
And with 2014 club fairest and best winner Ben Weightman unbeatable in the forward line --- he finished with seven big ones --- the Tigers also had other reliable avenues to goal.
Rhys Magin, who was runner-up in the Ron Best medal count last year with 75 majors, booted five goals and Mitch Scholard nailed three.
Magin and Scholard were new recruits having their first outings in Tiger colours.
In the back-half reliable key defender Harrison Huntley was isn great form, also.
It was just Kyneton’s third win in its past 27 attempts against the Dogs with club officials hoping the result would be crowned with a BFNL finals finish.
The Tigers director of football Rick Egan said Weightman represented a difficult match-up for most BFNL opposition clubs.
“He’s just one of those players who is so hard to match up on.
“Talls can’t go with him for pace and smalls --- he can just leap over the top of them.”
The Tiger official added that recruiting of a talented group of on-ballers over the off-season had given Kyneton the hope of sending Weightman into the front half more often.
Gisborne led by eight points at quarter time and then the Tigers got going.
A six-goal second quarter powered the visitors to a 32-point gap by half-time.
The Tigers kept their collective feet on the Bulldogs throats to open up a match-winning 47-point lead at the final change.
And they then went on to increase the margin to 60 in a barn-storming finish.
The Dogs most productive forward was Matt Knox with three majors. The Gisborne coaching staff promised a more enterprising effort in Rd. 2 against Maryborough.
The Tigers were set to host 2014 runners-up Sandhurst at the Showgrounds in Rd. 2.
“That will give us a strong read on how far we’ve come,” Egan said.
“Our pre-season expectations and even before beating Gisborne was to play finals.
“Today is what we’ve been working at and for us it’s a big win.
“The rivalry that’s there means we really do strive really hard to beat them, especially at their home ground,” Egan said.
He added that he and other club officials, and obviously the players, realised that it was only Rd. 1.
“But by the same token it’s the way we wanted to start the year. We implemented a lot of our team play and the match gave us an opportunity to show that a lot of the blokes we’ve added to the side were exactly what we needed for team balance.
“We firmly believe we’ve got the side to finish in the Top Five,” he said.
So how on the ball was Egan, his match committee and the team?
Well, the Tigers finished the 2015 season in fifth spot with 8 wins, 10 losses.
Their percentage wasn’t too flash at 88.4% and they went out in the first week of the finals: Eaglehawk 12.17 (89) def. the Tigers 9.9 (63).
A season later and Kyneton again finished fifth but with a slightly better 10-8 record and a percentage of 112.10%.
Again the Hawks were their opening semi-final nemesis winning 20.9 (129) to 11.8 (74).
Fast forward to September 2017 and the Tigers bowed out of the BFNL finals race in another elimination final loss.
It was a close one in the elimination final that year with Sandhurst winning 12.18 (90) to Kyneton’s 13.7 (85).
For the third consecutive season the Tigers were gone by the end of the first round of the finals series.
Weightman gave the Tigers a sniff by booting three, third quarter majors with Kyneton ahead by four points at the last change.
But with the Dragons nailing the first goal of the final quarter through Brodie Montague Kyneton’s hopes were on the line.
Tom O’Sullivan replied for Kyneton against the wind, but three, quick Hurst majors put the Dragons 16 points up.
And although the Tigers rallied late the Dragons were never going to relinquish their lead and held on in a one-kick result.
The first half had been tight with Sandhurst’s inaccuracy preventing the Dragons from opening up a sizeable advantage.
Half-time scores: Sandhurst 5.12 (42), Kyneton 6.3 (39).
Nine goals were nailed in a free-scoring last quarter. Weightman finished with six majors to end season 2017 on 96 goals from 19 games. He fell agonisingly short of the ‘ton’.
Best for the Tigers were Weightman, skipper Josh Govan, Tom O’Sullivan, Rhys Magin, Scholard (4 goals, 55 for the season), and Taylor Kelly.
For the Dragons standouts were Andrew Collins, Blair Holmes, Seb Greene (3 goals), Brodie Montague (2 goals), Lee Coghlan and Hamish Leahy.
The Dragons other multiple goalkicker was Zac East with two.
In the other first round 2017 final, Strathfieldsaye outlasted Square to win the qualifying final by nine points: 9.19 (73) to the Bulldogs 10.4 (64).
The inaccurate Storm came from six points down at the last change --- 6.15 (51) to Square’s 9.3 (57) --- to finish with a three-goal-to-one final stanza.
Dylan Johnstone, the Square key forward, was the most productive player in attack.
He finished with four majors and was the only multiple goalkicker on the ground.
The rest of the players on the QEO, including ace Storm spearhead Lachie Sharp, could manage just one goal apiece.
Back pocket specialist Clayton Anderson, then aged 33, was Square’s best player with Kallen Geary, now with Eaglehawk, Storm’s best.
Sharp was on 125 goals with the second semi-final against Eaglehawk looming.
Sam Heavyside, Harry Crone, Sam Simmons and Trent Donnan were other good players for Storm, while super-reliable skipper Jack Geary, Will Lee, ruckman Matt Compston and Tom Toma were in the Bulldogs best.
And in another big news item from September 2017, Gisborne announced former Collingwood and Hawthorn premiership wingman Clinton Young as the club’s 2018 coach.
Luke Beattie, who had recently signed a two-year extension, was the re-appointed Kyneton coach.
