We found a couple of submissions, but make sure you check out the second edition of the series on Monday and give us your thoughts.
Kasey Duncan
Euroa v Shepparton United, 2013, round 12 at Memorial Oval.
We (Euroa) hadn’t won many games and hadn’t beaten United in a long time.
We nearly knocked them off at Deakin earlier in the year, but fell a goal short.
The eventual grand finalists then came to Euroa and we came from behind to win by five points 16.6 (102) to 15.7 (97).
Tim Looby had four bounces down the wing in front of the club rooms/the hill late in the last quarter and upon his shot for goal to hit the front he was run down by Tyson Biffin who chased him the whole way, was one of the best moments on a footy field I have seen, the siren sounded not long after.
Luke Hyatt kicked seven and Jason Eagle five up the other end.
Gus Underwood
There was more than the usual buzz around Princess Park, Shepparton, on Saturday, May 31, 1980, when Lemnos (now Shepparton Swans) and Kyabram were preparing to go into battle.
The most decorated Kyabram footballer in the club’s history, Richard ‘'Dick” Clay, was due to make a comeback with his home club after an illustrious career with Richmond and three years out of the game.
Kyabram had arranged that year for Clay, 35 at the time, to be arguably country football’s first fly-in player.
The Bombers had arranged for the Hall of Famer and Victorian representative to make the first of his light plane trips from Melbourne to play his first game for the club for 14 years.
But the comeback nearly didn’t get off the ground.
Thick fog around Moorabbin airport at 10 am on the Saturday of the game made it unsafe for take-off and the flight was abandoned.
Not daunted by this late setback, Clay jumped straight into his own car at his Highett sports store and made a hurried trip north to arrive just before the main game, but with enough time to sign some autographs.
The appearance of the 213-game and four-time Richmond premiership player had drawn many Kyabramites who hadn’t seen their local team play for years to Princess Park to witness the comeback.
Supporters even swapped ends each quarter to add vocal support for the champion player who had won the Goulburn Valley League’s Morrison Medal playing at full-forward for Kyabram in 1964 when he kicked 103 goals.
Clay’s comeback was met with mixed opinions.
He dusted off the cobwebs at times to display some of his silky skills and kick four goals from limited chances on star Lemnos defender Peter Shemshedin, as Kyabram defeated Lemnos 13.13 (91) to 21.11 (83).
Aub Reddrop, who reported on the clash for the Kyabram Free Press, couldn’t squeeze Clay into his best players, who were fairly plentiful in the hotly contested clash.
Clay agreed and said he was a little disappointed with his performance.
But Kyabram coach Rob Egan strongly disagreed and rated Clay’s game highly.
‘‘We wouldn’t have won without him. To kick four goals on probably the best full-back in the league was a good performance. Wait till he gets properly fit and match hardened,’’ Egan said.
Clay had some injury problems after that game, but still played several more games that season, which was his swansong year as a player.
Game details of that 1980 clash were as follows:
Kyabram 6.3, 2.5, 4.1, 1.4, 13.13 (91)
Lemnos 1.1, 3.3, 4.3, 4.4, 12.11 (83)
Goals: Kyabram: D Clay 4, L Cooper 2, S Cortese, M Fry, S McKenzie, D Long, L Casey, B Fry, P Varcoe; Lemnos: K Maloney 3, G Elliott 2, Barry Valentine 2, W Firebrace, P Pearson, G Poustie, G Orrman, Brian Valentine.
Best: Kyabram: Barry Williams, Rob Harrison, David Shaw, Rob Egan, Mick Fry, Steve Sharp and David Long; Lemnos: P Shemshedin, B Kellett, B Vallentine, R Britten, G Landy and P Pearson.
