TIGERS SWEATING ON STROOBANTS INJURY
LOSING FORWARD MAGICIAN STROOBANTS IN FIRST QUARTER START OF BAD AFTERNOON FOR ROCHESTER
A serious injury to ace forward Steven Stroobants added further pain to Rochester’s 61-point loss to Kyabram in yesterday’s Goulburn Valley League grand final rematch.
Stroobants put through the Tigers’ first goal of the game, but went down with an Achilles complaint and spent most of the match on the bench.
‘‘Stroobs is a bit of a worry, but he’ll get a scan tomorrow and we’ll go from there,’’ Rochester playing coach James Flaherty said.
Stroobants was not the only player to join the injury list, with teammate Perry Oliver going off as a precaution with knee soreness after having a terrific first half down back.
Kyabram star Jason Morgan was left icing his hamstring after the game, putting his involvement in Goulburn Valley’s interleague squad in doubt.
Morgan was outstanding before heading to the bench in the third quarter, looking far more at home in defence than he was as a key forward in the win against Shepparton last week.
The Bombers gradually wore Rochester down at Moon Oval, blowing the game open in the last 15 minutes to record a percentage-boosting victory.
Paul Newman’s men regularly went inside 50, but their dominance was not reflected on the scoreboard until later.
The Bombers had 19 inside 50s in the opening term for four goals, with young gun Kyle Mueller and Lachie Smith being used as a key forward.
Smith did not have the same influence that he Don’t argue: normally has in defence, with star Rochester defender James Gledhill (without his trademark dreadlocks) holding his own on him.
Kyabram’s 24th straight win never reached any great heights as a spectacle for neutrals, but the Bombers had players contributing right across the ground.
Sam Sheldon was back to his best, running and carrying the ball brilliantly and pushing deep forward to slot two goals.
Jordan Williams was in a similar boat after a rare quiet game against the Bears, running all day and using the ball well when he had it, which was often.
Billy Burstin, who missed last week, was lively up forward and was always a threat around goals.
Star premiership ruckman Jake Reeves had a run in the reserves as he eases back from injury, but should return for this Saturday’s date with Mansfield at home.
Newman heaped praise on his side’s defence, with the Bombers’ back six the ultimate Fort Knox of country football.
Kyabram is conceding an average of only 35 points from its first three games, with two of those matches against finals contenders.
‘‘We broke it open a bit in the end and it didn’t ref lect the contest because it was a good contest all day,’’ Newman said.
‘‘They (Rochester) had their fair share of guys out and it’s only round three, but it’s nice to get an eightpoint buffer on them because we still expect them to be a genuine contender at the end of the year.’’
Star utility Luke Morris missed the clash with calf tightness, but could come up to face the Eagles.
Flaherty said Stroobants going down early threw the Tigers’ forward structure out of whack, but his side needed to find other avenues to break down Kyabram’s super defence.
Fellow forward Dylan Cuttriss was also sorely missed after suffering a heavy head knock in the previous round against Shepparton United.
Veteran ruckman and reigning club best-andfairest Sam Brennan, along with forward Heath Aitken also did not line up for the Tigers.
‘‘We tried a couple of things, but when Stroobs went down we had to alter what we were trying to do after half-time,’’ Flaherty said.
‘‘We had to go man-onman and their defence chopped us up.’’ Got you:
SCORES
Kyabram 4.3 6.7 8.9 14.11 (95) Rochester 1.1 3.2 5.3 5.4 (34) Oliver Caffrey’s best Kyabram: Jordan Williams, Sam Sheldon, Kyle Mueller, Patrick Wearden, Billy Burstin, Liam Ogden, Tom Holman. Rochester: Nathan Marrone, Perry Oliver, Ash Watson, James Gledhill. Goals Kyabram: Kyle Mueller 4, Kayne Pettifer 3, Billy Burstin 3, Sam Sheldon 2, Lachie Smith, Liam Ogden. Rochester: Steven Stroobants, Scott Oakley, James McPhee, Elliot Bowen, Ash Watson.