If the Wombats can achieve the feat they will be the first team to do since Shepparton East won the Kyabram District Football Association flags of 1958 and 1959, then won the first of the newly formed Kyabram District Football League titles in 1960.
Since 2021 the Wombats have been the dominant force, finishing on top in that COVID-19-cancelled season before winning back-to-back grand finals in 2022-23.
Davies had 17 of his grand final-winning team run out for the match against Avenel on Saturday, with only Lachlan Bocarini to return.
Lancaster won 17.9 (111) to Avenel’s 8.5 (53), the game much more even after the Wombats dominated the first half.
Of the remaining four members of that team, premiership captain Brad Orr has retired, as has Jake Mills, while Davies’ brother Luke is playing with Shepparton Swans and Jack Donnell is at Stanhope this season.
Replacing those four players are Goulburn Valley League Hall of Fame forward Paul Newman, dual reserves premiership player Daniel Foley, hard-nosed mid-field recruit Nicholas Kellow and 2022 premiership captain Adam Vick.
The Wombats walked away from the weekend’s game with a 58-point win and now have a 10 win/one draw return from the 11 games this season — and sit second on the ladder to Murchison-Toolamba, on percentage.
Coach Tom Davies said the round 11 was probably the strongest side the club had fielded this year.
“The way we moved the football reflected that,” he said.
After serving a 10-game suspension from last year’s grand final, Nick Ryan came back into the team and played mostly at centre half forward.
“He spent some time in the ruck and worked himself into the game with a couple of nice goals,” Davies said.
Ryan played alongside Newman in attack, the latter finishing with four goals as a focal point in attack after the star of the Wombats season, Zac Cerrone, left the field at quarter time with an injury.
Captain Charlie Mclay moved up the ground, to a wing, but still kicked two goals. The return of Ricky Thomson and Ryan, along with Newman’s presence, has forced him further up the ground despite having 35 goals from 11 games.
“After Zac went down Charlie then went into the midfield and had a very good game,” Davies said.
Sam Vick, after kicking two first-half goals, replaced Nick McAuliffe in defence after the long break. McAuliffe was left with a broken nose and took no further part in the game.
Matt Fleming kept Avenel key forward Alex Crnko goalless (he had 24 goals from 10 games coming into the game), finishing among the Wombats’ best.
Lancaster kept Avenel to just two goals in the first half, leading by 43 points at the long break, but the Swans battled back and were eventually only beaten by 58 points.
Davies said while there were some sore bodies following Saturday’s game, he was hoping to settle the side and play his strongest team in the last three games.
