Easter showdown for GV neighbours

Rochester coach Ash Watson and captain Nathan McCarty and Bombers ruckman Zac Norris all work within the Kyabram District Health Service network and will be keen to have bragging rights come Monday morning.

While all three work in vastly different areas of the health facility, many of their workmates are well aware of the rivalry between the two football-mad towns.

“We don’t see each other all that often, just the odd hello in the hallway,” Watson said.

Watson is KDHS primary health manager and has worked at the Kyabram facility for six years.

Norris has worked with the maintenance team for the past two years and McCarty has worked for the past three years as an exercise physiologist.

McCarty, who will captain the Tigers solo against Kyabram in the absence of co-captain Nathan Marrone, has had an interrupted preparation for the game.

He and new wife Bridgette (nee Holt, a Rochester A-grade netball star) have just returned from a three-week honeymoon to Central America.

They visited Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, among other exotic locations, but the experienced McCarty said he was ready for round one.

Bridgette also works in health, as a theatre nurse with Bendigo Health.

Kyabram’s final preparation for the opening game of the season ended with an intra-club practice match last Thursday, while Rochester had a practice match against Golden Square on Saturday

Watson, a former Morrison Medallist, played against a young Norris before retiring and recalled the days when Rochester “had the wood’’ on Kyabram, before its four-year domination of the competition from 2016-19.

Rochester beat Kyabram by three points in the wet late last season when McCarty was near best afield. Norris was similarly dominant earlier in the season when Kyabram was a 57-point winner.

Both teams finished their seasons in similar fashion, losing on elimination final weekend, Rochester by 32 points to Mooroopna and Kyabram a 51-pointer to eventual grand finalist Euroa.

Watson said even after the 2013 Kyabram premiership win and Rochester’s loss to the Bombers in the 2016 GVL grand final, the Tigers had enjoyed a good record against their neighbour.

“Early days we had the wood over Ky. It was a bit tougher when they started the run. We have had some good results against them under lights,“ he said.

Watson said he expected a big crowd with the My Shout Membership campaign being launched at the first Tigers home game and every member of the Rochester community given a family membership

“There is always a big crowd anyway, but with it being Easter and through the membership campaign and community events it will be even bigger,” Watson said.

Marrone will be missing for the first three weeks of the season, while Jason Morgan will again captain Kyabram.

McCarty said with the loss of Jansen and injuries to Hugh Hamilton and Doug Wren, he was expecting to spend more time in the midfield.

Next week’s edition will have full statistical information from the senior match, along with reports from both the reserves, under-18 and netball matches between the clubs.