Two Murray league medallists, a Kyabram District League goalkicking star and a former Bombers best-and-fairest headline the familiar faces who will be part of Kyabram’s pre-season program this week.
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While Coby McCarthy and Jack Russell were absent on Monday night to start the campaign, Lancaster star Zac Cerrone and ruckman Zac Norris were both among the 30-plus players at Kyabram Recreation Reserve, alongside new senior assistant coaches Tom Holman and Mick Mattingly.
Norris will co-captain the senior side with Aiden Robinson, who stepped into the role last season in the ruckman’s absence.
None of the club’s three Moama recruits, Jack Sheldon, returning star Holman, and reigning Murray league medallist Jack Russell trained at the pre-season opener.
Russell is away, as is Jack Sheldon, while Holman watched from the middle of the ground where Mattingly controlled much of the session — watched by senior co-coach Corey Carver.
Kaine Herbert, who will again be Carver’s on-field general, trained with the group.
McCarthy has just returned from Darwin and is expected to start his pre-season campaign tonight (Wednesday, November 27).
The group, along with a handful of Murray and Kyabram Disrict League recruits, will be vying for a place in what looks like being an impressive senior line-up
Come round one only reigning best-and-fairest Liam Ogden, Queenslanders Marcus Khoo, Jackson Griffiths, and Bailey Tome — and Will Golds — will be absent from the team that contested last year’s losing final against Mooroopna.
WHAT KYABRAM’S ROUND ONE TEAM COULD LOOK LIKE
B: Brad Whitford, Aidan Robinson, Jake Parkinson
H-B: Jack Sheldon, Jason Morgan, Jake Torney
C: Kaine Herbert, Jack Russell, Archie Watt
H-F: Mick Mattingly, Nick Jephson, Zac Cerrone
F: Mitch Dodos, Anthony Depasquale, Tom Holman
FOLL: Zac Norris, Coby McCarthy, Josh Dillon
INT: Eamonn Ogden, Tom Sheldon, Riley Ironside, Charlie Barnett, Bohden Learmonth, Cooper Vick, Sam Vick, Tom Burnett, Mitch Gugliotti, Will Burnett, Tyler Norman (BOLD denotes new player, player returning from injury or played very few games in 2024).
* Reigning best-and-fairest Liam Ogden is travelling overseas for the first half of the year. Mick Mattingly only played two games and Watt also appeared in only two games, while Zac Norris didn’t play at all last season due to injury.
Russell has joined the Bombers after a 21 game — 22 goal 2024 season, that saw him lead Moama into a preliminary final and share the league’s O’Dwyer Medal.
His amazing consistency is echoed through the statistics, featuring in the Magpies best half dozen players in 43 of his last 60 games.
The former Echuca junior has also been a star of the NTFL competition, kicking 23 games and playing in a grand final with the Banks reserve grade premier league team.
Jack Sheldon, 26, last played with the Bombers in 2022, having returned from a stint overseas as a punter in the US College system with Central Michigan University.
He had an amazing 217 season where he punted 75 times for 3253 yards.
Coby McCarthy’s break-out 2024 GVL season produced elite statistical returns in disposals, clearances, inside 50s and score involvements.
He played 17 games with Mooroopna last season and averaged 34.6 disposals, including a season high of 43 possessions against Shepparton Swans and a 37-touch game in a losing semi-final to grand finalist Shepparton.
McCarthy last played senior football with the Bombers in 2018 when he kicked three goals in six games before crossing to Tongala for season 2019 (where he became a league best-and-fairest winner).
Tom Holman won Moama’s best-and-fairest last season with a 19 game — 44 goal season that included a late season four week stretch of 17 goals and three clear best-on-ground performances.
Zac Norris sat out the entire 2024 season with shoulder issues, but won the club’s best-and-fairest in 2023 and post-COVID had hardly missed a game.
He broke into the team in 2017 and for the next five seasons has been the club’s number one big man
Lancaster recruit Zac Cerrone played six of the first senior games with Kyabram, at senior level, in 2022 before returning to Lancaster and playing in a premiership team.
He kicked 24 goals that season from 12 games and followed that up with 114 goals in 35 games for seasons 2023-24.
Cerrone played in Kyabram’s successful 2011-12 under-16 teams where he kicked 54 goals in 30 games.
His Lancaster premiership teammate of 2022-23, Sam Vick, has arrived to join his younger brother Cooper at the Bombers.
Vick played 16 games with Kyabram’s reserve grade team in 2017 before joining Lancaster and has played 81 games in five seasons since.
Billy Mclay and Mitch Gugliotti have returned to the Bombers from Tongala, Gugliotti last played senior GVL football in 2022 (nine games) and Mclay in 2023 when he appeared on three occasions at senior level.
– Off the ground John Guinan was reinstated as president at the recent club annual general meeting, with Benny Gugliotti his new vice-president (Russell Morgan will remain on the board).
They have a big assignment ahead as impending development of the Wilf Cox Community Centre will mean an interrupted season for the Bombers.
New committee members include Col Robinson, Aiden Robinson and Kelsey O’Neill, with Paul Shortis and Kate Whitford remaining on the club executive.
Paul Burnett will remain as football manager, while Brad Edwards is the club’s new junior development chief.
Albion Motors is the club’s new major sponsor and Cantech Engineering has also come on board as a sponsor.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor