Avenel’s big six played an influential part in the Kyabram District league’s 21-point victory over Golden Rivers in Saturday’s interleague match at Shepparton East’s Central Reserve.
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But the day wasn’t the outing Nagambie’s David Price had hoped for, with the midfielder set to spend multiple weeks of the regular season on the sideline after injuring his hamstring in the friendly match.
In what was a blow for Kyabram District, Price came off the ground within five minutes of the opening bounce and played no part in the remainder of the match.
‘‘He said it was the worst injury he’d ever done,’’ Kyabram District co-coach Kasey Duncan said.
Duncan led the interleague team to battle alongside Jason Milne of Murchison-Toolamba, and was joined by fellow Swans’ Michael Tinkler, Dean Giles, Braydon Avola, Kyle Maynard and Harry McLean.
And it was Kyabram District’s hot start that proved the difference between the two leagues, with the home side kicking 13 goals in the first half to lead by 39 points at the main break, before holding on for the 18.16 (124) to 15.13 (103) win.
The victory lifts Kyabram District up a few spots in the Worksafe Community Championships rankings, with next year’s opponent set to be finalised in the coming weeks.
The game was a chance for Avenel’s senior stars to flex their muscles and show off their skills in an all-star Kyabram line-up, with Undera on-baller Kaine Herbert awarded the best on ground medal.
Avenel defender Michael Tinkler was named second-best behind Herbert, although Duncan said it could have been a toss of a coin as to who took out the top spot.
‘‘Tinks was super. His run and carry, his intercepting and one-on-one work helped get us across the line,’’ Duncan said.
Joining Tinkler in the backline was Dean Giles, who rotated across several forward opponents.
‘‘It was a bit of a see saw in the middle, so our backline was able to get on top,’’ Duncan said.
‘‘I think Giles only had about one or two kicked on him, his spoiling and contested work were superb, and he really set up our forward movement.’’
Avenel’s Harry McLean did plenty of damage down forward with his four goals, while also rotating through the middle, and youngster Braydon Avola worked hard on the wing, his run and carry on show.
‘‘A highlight for Avola was two get and goes in the first quarter, to hit up Tinkler for the first goal of game,’’ Duncan said.
Meanwhile, onballer Kyle Maynard worked well in tandem with Herbert through the middle, his inside and clearance work outstanding.
And when asked about his own game, Duncan remained relatively modest.
‘‘I played okay. I won some of the ball in the middle, that inside work was my main job, but I missed a couple up forward.’’
But in a game where it really comes down to how well a team can come together, with players representing several of the local clubs, Kyabram District did well to elicit an overall team effort.
‘‘I thought we jelled well. There was plenty of laughs, especially after the game and we all got along well, which is what interleague is all about,’’ Duncan said.
With interleague done and dusted for another year, both Avenel and Nagambie will return their focus to the regular Kyabram District league season this Saturday.
Fifth will play fourth when Nagambie face Murchison-Toolamba away from home, while Avenel will play bottom of the ladder Ardmona in a likely walkover.
‘‘We’re going to use the game to start up some momentum into the next string of games,’’ Duncan said.
‘‘The season has been going for six or seven weeks, but we’ve only played four games.
‘‘We’re going to use the middle part of the season to find some consistency and try to be where we want to be come the back half of the season.’’
Final score: Kyabram District 19.16 (124) def Golden Rivers 15.13 (103)
Kyabram goals: B. Campbell 5, H. McLean 4, J. Milne 4, Z. Cerrone 2, B. Kearns, K. Maynard, M. Tinkler
Best: K. Herbert, M. Tinkler, T. Karolidis, N. Torney, D. Giles, J. Ross