Kyabram staves off Mooroopna fightback to seal the 2023-24 Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield grand final

The result was never cut and dry, though, the Redbacks ran into day two in a superior position as the Cats languished on 6-34 at stumps on Saturday.

An admirable partnership between Nick Breslin and Brodie McDonald teased the idea of a Mooroopna comeback, but Kyabram must’ve ushered one heck of a rallying cry at lunch as the quicks broke the dam and sealed the game.

Considering the trials and tribulations of a misfired start to the season to nearly missing out on finals, if Kyabram coach Jackson McLay could’ve bottled the feeling in the wash-up, one word would be plastered on the label: proud.

“Going into two-day cricket, we couldn’t afford any slip-ups really,” McLay said.

“We needed a lot to go right for us and you need a little bit of luck in this game.

“We scraped in by the skin of our teeth, 16 wickets in the last game of the home and away season. As hard as it was, it set the tone for our finals.

“We’re never beaten, we’re never out of it. Every time the opposition got on top of us, we referred back to those games and situations.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the group — they just keep standing up.”

Kyabram had the guts and guile on display during day one, plastering together a plucky stand with opener Billy McLay right at the heart of it.

He became the only player throughout the entire game to raise the bat, composing a measured knock of 51 off 169 balls.

McLay’s partners came and went with starts made by a plethora of Redbacks bats, but the opener was the anchor Kyabram needed as he grounded his feet and ticked over the scoreboard with stylish shot selection and hard running.

Simply put, McLay saved his biggest score of the season for the game which mattered most.

By the time he was removed by Jack Gaskill (2-23), Kyabram had a respectable score on the board and, even when Mooroopna coach Luke Zanchetta found himself on a hat-trick at the death, the game hung in the balance.

Then came Kyabram’s hour (or two) of power.

The Redbacks ripped through Mooroopna’s top six in the latter stages of Saturday to leave the Cats crestfallen at stumps as Jackson and Charlie McLay walked off the oval with three poles apiece.

The following day, Breslin and McDonald staged a three-hour stand at the crease as they set about championing Mooroopna’s fightback.

McDonald (47) took the reins and shouldered the scoring load, while Breslin (17) played a support role, the two dab hands facing more than 100 balls each as they desperately tried to swing the pendulum back Mooroopna’s way.

However, Angus McKenzie chimed in with his only wicket of the day after lunch, one which proved to be the catalyst for the Cats’ downfall.

McKenzie snicked off Breslin and the rest followed, Mooroopna losing the final three wickets for 12 runs.

Half an hour later, Kyabram was hoisting the Haisman Shield.

Charlie McLay was awarded the Greg Luscombe Medal for his spell of 5-30 and 22-run knock, thoroughly deserving best-afield merits for a dazzling two days on the track.

Coach McLay analysed the game post-match and praised his side’s ability to stick at it when the going got tough, a common theme throughout the Redbacks’ campaign.

“We know what Mooroopna bring ... quite a strong bowling attack, they’re good in the field, they’re at the batter, so they make you earn every run,” he said.

“Same as two weeks ago, we probably backed our batting against theirs, and we said if we can stick it out, play our natural game, get the opening bowlers coming back with multiple spells, we’ll be able to break them.

“We knew we weren’t going to do it in two or three hours, it was going to take all day.

“With 160 on the board, it’s probably a tricky chase. In a home and away game, you’d probably back them to get it — but finals pressure, it’s that perceived pressure.”

McLay went on to shower praise on his side for not dropping the ball when it had the game at its mercy, rounding off Kyabram’s fairytale season with an exclamation point.

“You’re never happy or complacent in a grand final; this is my fourth and I’ve lost three,” he said.

“The two and half hours of sleep last night probably proves that. But what a fantastic position to roll into today.

“They were probably always going to get a partnership — they’re a good team — but we felt like we were one ball away.

“Angus McKenzie’s spell after the lunch break, he’s got that X-factor. It might only be one or two overs, but he got the wicket.

“The boys just kept chipping away, chipping away; we knew we’d break them and crack them open eventually, we just had to stick with it.”