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benflKYNETON coach Peter Foster was so impressed with Eaglehawk’s Kain Robins early in 2004 he likened the Hawk swingman to North Melbourne champion, Wayne Carey.

Playing either on a wing or in the ruck, Robins garnered 47 possessions and hammered home five goals in the 107-point trouncing of the Tigers.

“I played on Wayne Carey in his younger days,” said the ex-Footscray centre half-back.
“Potentially, and this is only what I’ve seen, Robins has everything in the package. How far he wants to take it is up to him.

“But I think he could definitely play AFL footy,” added Foster.

The Tiger coach explained he’d only seen Robins in that early season game when he was at his best, and during the 2003 season “when he had an extra six or seven kilograms of weight on him.”

“But even last year I thought he could play. I’ve been matched up on enough big blokes in my life-time to know this kid can play.”
Thirteen seasons ago Robins was on the then Bendigo Bank Bombers VFL list. Foster believed he could step up one rung further by making an AFL roster.

Against Kyneton Robins collected 30 kicks and dished out 17 handballs as well as hauling in 15 marks.
Foster was astounded Kain had been left out of that weekend’s Bombers’ team to play Tasmania at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, but was convinced he’d be re-instated in the Red and Black team to compete against Werribee on May 9th.

EAGLEHAWK coach Derrick Filo agreed with Foster’s summation.
“Kain is a really talented player. He’s actually too good for Bendigo footy.
“He has improved dramatically from last year (2003). Put him in our side every week and we’d be a lot stronger, but as a club and thinking of his personal progress we’d rather see Kain playing VFL and pushing on towards the AFL.”
Foster said during the Canterbury Park clash he and his co-match committee members were stretched to the limit trying to negate Robins, plus midfielders Damien Lock, Daniel Rankin and Daniel Smith.
“As the game unfolded I said to the other guys ‘Geez, Robins is going to be hard to stop.’
“We don’t have a player of that size to run with him so that’s going to be extra hard.”
Foster added Bombers’ coach Peter Banfield wouldn’t be the catalyst towards seeing Robins drafted.
“He’ll get himself drafted. I know I’ve seen a guy who has lost five or six kilos over the summer and, to me, that’s a fair step forward.
“His commitment has been good over the pre-season by the looks of it and I’m pretty certain he really wants to play in the VFL.”

OTHER coaches weren’t short of a word early in the 2004 season either.
Castlemaine mentor Paul Eyles was understandably chuffed with his Magpies: unbeaten after three rounds and in second spot on the BFNL ladder.
He’d been quoted in a November 2003 Addy article as saying: “I really believe we can play in the grand final next year.”
“I’m confident with the list we’re establishing and if we go into games with the correct attitude we are a real chance to go all the way,” Eyles had said, before Christmas.
It seemed like a pretty bold prediction, four-and-a-half months out from the following season.
But by early May in 2004 Castlemaine had shown it was the BFNL’s big improver.
The injury-ravaged Maine had recorded a thrilling two-point win over South Bendigo at the Camp Reserve in Rd. 3.
Scott Carson and Adrian Conn landed seven of the Maine goals in a match which saw on-baller Matthew Peake sidelined (fractured cheekbone) and ruckman Luke Walter off with a leg strain.
Plus the Magpies had gone into the clash without Eyles (hamstring), captain Chris Jardine (thumb) while Bendigo Bombers-listed player Nathan Gilliland (shoulder) also watched on from the sidelines.

CASTLEMAINE fought back from a 20-point deficit (6.4 to 9.6) at the long break and still trailed by two points at the last change.
But they added just enough in a last quarter shoot-out to down the Bloods by two points.
South looked shot late in the last term, trailing by 20 points. But the Bloods banged home three late goals to fall just short, leaving South coach Peter Tyack pretty frustrated.
“The game was there for us to win and we just didn’t do it,” he said.
“For the first 20 minutes of the final quarter we didn’t apply enough pressure although we did come home really hard in the last part of that quarter when the boys realised it just wasn’t going to happen by itself.”
Ryan ‘Rhino” Connaughton booted four goals for South and Brad Wright a pair.
Eyles said Castlemaine had put up with “a lot of knockers over summer.
“But with the quality players we have, a few experienced ones to come back in plus some players the league doesn’t know a lot about ..... some of those are pretty experienced and can really play footy,” he said.

MARYBOROUGH coach Neville Massina was another from the BFL’s top bracket to have his say in early May.
He was certain the chasing pack was closing in on Gisborne, the 2002-2003 premiers.
Even though the Princes Park Pies went down by 35 points at Gisborne’s ‘Graveyard’ in Rd. 3 Massina was confident the dual premiers could be toppled.
“The first year they won (2002) Gisborne was far and away the best team,” Massina said.
“Then last year I believe the gap closed a little bit and this season I think that gap has closed again.”
“Gisborne has been fantastic for Bendigo footy because they’ve raised the level. They’ve started this season at a hot pace again and other clubs have got to get up there.”
But Massina added Maryborough had just five good players on the day, they’d been ‘slaughtered early on’ but managed to match is with Gisborne for the remainder of play.
“That gives us good thoughts. We’re not devastated by the result as we’d played just the one game at the start of the season and then had the bye.”

SANDHURST belted cellar dweller Kangaroo Flat by 80 points with Ryan Haythorpe and Mark Fitzgerald landing eight goals between them.
The Dragons led by six goals at the long break restricting the Roos to just a solitary second quarter point.
And the Hurst went on a scoring spree in the second half landing 10.7 to the Flat’s 3.6 with midfielders Rick Andrews, Leigh Gathercole and Mark Vigus enjoying a picnic.
Only Cam Milward and Mark Austin were able to provide any semblance of drive for Chris Harrington’s Roos.
Elliott Bowen was the only multiple goalkicker for Kangaroo Flat.
Final scores, round 3, 2004: Eaglehawk 28.16 (184) def. Kyneton 11.11 (77); Castlemaine 13.12 (90) def. South Bendigo 13.10 (88); Gisborne 13.13 (91) def. M’borough 8.7 (55) and Sandhurst 20.18 (138) def. Kang. Flat 8.10 (58).
Top Five: Eaglehawk 3 wins, 0 losses, 12 prem. points, 267.8%; Castlemaine 3-0-12, 182.9%; Gisborne 3-0-12, 160.3%; Sandhurst 2-0 and 1 bye, 12, 154.65%; Maryborough 1 win, 1 loss, 1 bye, 8.
Round 4 2004, Saturday: Kyneton vs. Sandhurst, South Bendigo vs. Eaglehawk, Maryborough vs. Castlemaine.
Sunday: Kangaroo Flat vs. Golden Square (at QEO: the ongoing early Noughties drought had ravaged Dower Park). Bye: Gisborne.
Round 5 tips for 2017: Storm, Flat, Kyneton (at Harry Trott Oval, South’s home game), Square & Hurst.

By Richard Jones