Results from the first weekend of finals in the Goulburn Valley Playing Area Allan Matheson Shield turned all forecasts and familiar trajectories on their heads.
The Tally train found itself derailed last Saturday by competitive rivals Shepparton Golf, dispelling an aura of near-invincibility that had first been rocked by surprise defeat to Euroa last month.
In the process, Shepparton Golf has moved assertively to cement itself as perhaps a new front-runner, and a week off with automatic passage to the grand final will undoubtedly bring a world of confidence to Kris Ferguson’s outfit.
The elimination final last weekend also helped remove any sense of connection to the 2023-24 finals when it looked on paper as if we might have been in for a step-for-step repeat.
Kyabram’s victory to send Shepparton Park home also negated one other pre-existing storyline - the idea that the Bombers were a Cinderella story this campaign after a wealth of turnover in the pennant squad.
This is a competing, here and now side under Mal Williams, and one which will back itself to take a contest up to Tallygaroopna in Saturday’s preliminary final at - ironically - Shepparton Golf Bowling Club.
There’s good reason to believe in potentially nicking a result as well.
Sure, the Redlegs had the wood on Kyabram in both home and away encounters - as they did on virtually everybody - but they failed to achieve a rink sweep on either occasion.
The Matheson’s longtime premiership favourites did the business on its home greens in round six, but Greg Shilling would engineer a rink victory on the day alongside a four which featured Charlie Boswood.
Sure enough, their round 13 rematch out west also featured a Shilling rink win, with Noel Reddrop’s quartet saluting as well as the two sides split the four contests, though Tallygaroona would again take overall honours.
Staying on that red and green outfit, Russell Orchard served as an in-studio guest for the season’s penultimate episode of After the Jack earlier this week.
He had plenty of praise in reserve for this weekend’s opponents as well.
“Kyabram have done an unbelievable job,” Orchard said.
“They have definitely exceeded expectations.
“We look forward to the game, and from an outside point of view, they would say the pressure would be on us.
“If you have a look at the personnel in our team, most of them actually quite enjoy the pressure and will take it up without doubt.”
Of course, being part of a leading club, the player permit system naturally came up in conversation given Golf’s wealth of riches and the high-powered contest last weekend.
“We did make a conscious decision a few weeks back to not play a permit player whilst we had a member available, which was pretty close to a unanimous decision,” Orchard said.
“We’re a happy club, we’re a good club. We have members who like to be there.
“We want to look after our members first and foremost; if the results don’t go our way, I can live with that.
“There is no doubt Ant Flapper was the difference, certainly in our rink.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing for bowls or individual club overall, and I hope that in their wisdom, Bowls Victoria changes the situation around.”
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