Kyneton hasn’t had much success at Gardiner Reserve in recent history, but that meant little on Saturday as the Tigers snuck home against Gisborne.
One of the local rivalries in the Bendigo Football League, the Bulldogs have had the wood against the Tigers for much of the last 20 years.
On Saturday, the two teams dished up a thriller with the Tigers able to hold on against a fast finishing Gisborne, winning 12.3 (75)-10.13 (73).
Tigers coach Paul Chapman said there was plenty of excitement as they beat the Bulldogs for the first time since 2018.
“It’s been a long time,” he said. “It’s really exciting, we got off to a slow start to the year and we managed to get a good win the week prior against Maryborough.
“We then got to challenge ourselves against the reigning premiers and come away with the win, it’s really exciting.”
Chapman said for the first three quarters they played some really good football and were able to control the tempo.
They managed to get out to a 30 point lead heading into the final quarter.
“The boys executed perfectly for three quarters,” he said. “For most of the day we had control and when we didn’t, we didn’t take long to wrestle back momentum.
“In the last quarter we changed our mindset and tried to protect the lead.”
Not for the first time this season the Bulldogs have finished in a flurry. Four goals to nil in the first part of the quarter, reduced the margin to with a goal.
Chapman said the group were able to hold their nerve when they really needed to.
“It got a little bit scary for a little while,” he said. “The last four minutes we slowed it down and we felt like they weren’t going to score.
“We probably should have hit that mode a little bit earlier.”
Chapman said they will take a lot of learnings out of the game as they continue to grow as a side.
Cameron Manuel kicked four goals for the Tigers, while Jayden Eales and Thomas Quinn kicked two each.
For the Bulldogs, Pat McKenna kicked five goals in his first game for the season.
Chapman said some of his players were starting to put together a good run of form.
“Cam three games in a row now has played well,” he said. “Jake Summers was good for us for a second week in a row.
“Harrison Huntley had the job on Pat McKenna and even though he kicked five, he did a good job on him
“Ethan Foreman was good against his old side. Everyone played their role really well.”
The Tigers now sit in seventh position, just percentage behind Gisborne in fifth spot.
This week there is a competition wide bye.
Chapman said the aim for his playing group was to just continue to get better each week.
“We knew it would be a slower start to the season,” he said. “It was a messy pre-season.
“Even during our losses we’ve been getting better every week and that is the challenge.
“We know we are a relatively new looking team, we want to take it step by step and see how that goes.”
