Some Kyabram District League results tend to catch the eye, but even in a split round, there were some numbers worthy of a double take.
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Saturday’s action brought with it multiple triple-figure margins, highlighted by Tallygaroopna’s total destruction of winless bottom side Undera at home.
Top spearhead James Lloyd sits the week out with his Murchison-Toolamba side taking to the park next Saturday, but Tallygaroopna’s Brent Arho went about setting up a clear-cut two-horse race to be the league’s dominant goalkicker.
Arho, like most all of his Redleg accomplices on the day, was nothing short of unstoppable, notching his first 10-goal haul of the season and moving to 24 in 2024.
No fewer than 15 Tallygaroopna scoring shots in the opening term wiped away any chance of a contest before it had a chance to begin, with the unfancied Lions simply no match.
Eventually, the Redlegs romped away with a simply scintillating 24.15 (159) to 0.1 (1) thrashing, to the delight of coach Dan Clarke.
“It was certainly a good day for our boys,” Clarke said.
“We put it on ourselves to make sure we responded after that tough loss last week against Avenel, and they responded exactly how I wanted them to.
“From a coach’s point of view, it was what we needed to do and it was a full team effort, which I was proud of.”
Of course, calling upon goal machines the likes of Arho would improve a coach’s point of view as well.
“We didn’t have anyone of that calibre last year, but now that we’ve got more focal points, it’s definitely a good thing,” Clarke said.
“He’s doing the work on the ground to get those goals, and I dare say he and James Lloyd will be keeping a close eye on each other during the year; forwards are often like that.
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Making moves: Shepparton East’s Dwain Vidler.Image 2 of 7
Not much space: Dookie United’s Kyle Tapscott and Shepparton East’s Benjamin McCluskey. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 7
Ground ball get: Dookie United’s Kyle Tapscott. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 7
Rebounding kick: Shepparton East’s Jordan Gattuso. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 7
Gaining some ground: Dookie United’s Lachlan Sommers. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 7
Following through: Shepparton East’s Thomas McCluskey.Image 7 of 7
Wearing the coach’s hat: Shepparton East’s Dwain Vidler. Photo by Rechelle Zammit“They’re two fairly big units, but I was glad Brent did his job yesterday.”
More importantly, of course, the Redlegs did theirs collectively, gladly taking a gigantic percentage boost home in moving to third with 12 points ahead of a bye week.
Saturday’s other enormous margin saw Merrigum account for Violet Town with ease, led by the goalkicking stylings of Jake Gascoyne (seven goals) and Matt Wild (six).
The scoring conversions would indicate this could have been even more of a one-sided result, with the Bulldogs easily prevailing 19.25 (139) to 5.6 (36).
Rushworth Recreation Reserve served as a happy hunting ground for Girgarre — its first of the season, in fact — through its comfortable 16.7 (103) to 6.10 (46) win over the Tigers for a straightforward maiden four points.
Sunday’s action served up twice the usual activity despite the split round scheduling, with Shepparton East joining the triple-figure margin club at Central Park after a ferocious 22.14 (146) to 5.6 (36) result at the expense of Dookie.
Full results for the 2023 grand final rematch between Nagambie and Lancaster were unavailable at press time.
Next weekend’s truncated finish to the split round sees Murchison-Toolamba attempt to maintain its hold on top spot in hosting Longwood.
Meanwhile, Avenel also has an unbeaten start to protect next Saturday, and seeks to do so away at Stanhope.
Sports Journalist