Bendigo Advertiser | KYNETON charged into the BFNL top five following an entertaining 39-goal shoot-out at Castlemaine’s Camp Reserve on Saturday.
On a perfect late autumn day the Tigers were incredibly accurate early, booting 11 straight goals until landing their first behind 17 minutes into the second quarter.
The Magpies were in the contest all the way. They forged to the lead early in the third quarter then closed to within eight points with three minutes left to play in the final term.
It fell to Ben Weightman and Mitchell Scholard to ice the victory for Kyneton with pressure majors in the dying moments as the Tigers won a classic encounter by 22 points: 21.13 (139) to 18.19 (117).
The first half was exciting, end-to-end football. Klai Jermyn nailed three of his six goals for the Pies in the opening term with marvellous shots at goal.
Kyneton landed eight straight majors in the first tem as spearhead Mitchell Scholard (three) and elusive forwards Ben Weightman and Alik Magin nailed two apiece at the pavilion end.
The Maine surged to the lead eight minutes into the second term. Although Kyneton’s Joel Stevenson was on top in the centre square battles and boundary throw-ins, James O’Brien and Kalan Huntly both goaled for Castlemaine.
And when Justin Dorward broke the Thomas Bourke tag and nursed home a Castlemaine major from a 50m penalty, the home side was 10 points up.
But as they were able to do all match, the Tigers bounced back. Acting skipper Jake Hyland nailed the second of his afternoon’s four goals before Alik Magin drilled two more before the long break.
The second half wasn’t quite as breathtaking as the first, but the individual battles were just as fiercely contested.
Kyneton landed four goals to three in the third term as Stevenson continued to mark strongly around the ground.
His tap-outs regularly landed in the hands of runners Rhys and Alik Magin and Andrew Aiello.
An excellent running goal to Castlemaine’s pacy John Watson - his second for the quarter - reduced the margin to five points before Kyneton responded.
A floater from Alik Magin and an online shot by Hyland after he’d bullocked his way through a pack handed Kyneton a 17-point lead at the final change.
Once again Castlemaine challenged. Jermyn nailed his fifth major from a set-shot early in the last before two unsung Tigers steadied Kyneton.
Under-18 player Alan Miles and Richard Boyer both snapped accurately with Boyer’s shot not fading, even though he was slung in a tackle as he got boot to ball.
The Magpies came again. Mark Ramsey steered home a set-shot and playmaker Jarryd Graham rammed home the Maine’s 17th goal after marking at centre half-forward.
When Dorward drove long into the goal square and Jermyn toe-poked through his sixth major the deficit was eight points. Just three-and-a-half minutes were left on the clock.
It came down to Weightman and Scholard to boot Kyneton’s sealers and hand the visitors a great victory.
Kyneton coach Mark Adamson said his players knew Castlemaine would have been “really hungry” to win at home.
“We still made some bad skill errors, which hurt us a little bit, but overall our execution was much, much better,” Adamson said after the victory.
