He got it, but the languishing Bulldogs were more than equal to the task out of the gate.
Clear favouritism on paper or not, the Bombers would not take four easy points from their meeting with a determined Paul Barnard-led outfit at the Wilf Cox Complex.
The visitors were actually threatening a monster boilover early, hitting the scoreboard hard and fast with five of the game’s first six goals.
There was no time for shock and awe, though, as Carver’s men quickly corrected course to assume a slim quarter-time advantage following a first term that produced 11 goals in total.
Determined to write the hideous early patch off as an anomaly, the Bombers picked up right where they left off in the second term with three successive majors to open up a proper buffer.
Ascertaining the advantage many figured they would have from the outset, the home side kept the foot down to storm into the long break with a 29-point advantage.
Barnard’s men would not settle, however, and peppered the goals early in the third — a stirring would-be comeback derailed by their own inaccuracy.
Five of the first six scoring shots in the quarter had the potential to tell a vastly different story, but producing just 1.4 from those chances was always going to stymie a rally.
In spite of this, 11 scoring shots for the term would be enough to leave Kyabram holding a not entirely comfortable three-goal gap heading into the final half-hour.
The Bulldogs continued to spite themselves in front of goal with four points potentially on the line, rattling off three straight behinds as the margin pushed back towards 30.
A consolation goal to round out the day meant little as Kyabram moved to a positive win-loss record in a solid 16.9 (105) to 11.18 (84) victory.
Corey Carver lamented the growing toll of injury and soreness within the group following another bruising encounter.
“They jumped us early, but we were able to peg them back and get our nose in front in that third term,” Carver said.
“It wasn’t the greatest of games. We’re looking forward to the bye, to be honest.
“They’re a good centre clearance and stoppage side, so they were all over us and their midfielders were able to get everything out of the middle.
“Eventually, we were able to score a bit easier and we changed our rucks around a bit, which helped.”
Anthony Depasquale yet again made himself the star of the show as the dynamic forward blew through Tatura’s back six en route to seven majors.
Depasquale’s white-hot form sees him close the gap on Mooroopna’s Daniel Johnston to just one at the top of the league’s goalkicking charts, now sitting at 30 for 2024.
“Anthony’s in really good form. He’s marking everything coming his way, and he’s confident,” Carver said.
“His last month has been great, and he’s probably won us the last couple of games, so he’s in very good nick.”
Will Russell contributed three in a losing Bulldog effort, with Mitchell Elliott, Tyle Williams and Ethan Penrith finding the big sticks multiple times.
Kyabram, now on the right side of the 2024 ledger with a 4-3 card, sets up a fascinating encounter at Princess Park with the Shepparton Swans next week.
Both sides have had their moments in brilliant bursts, but have shared in the struggle of closing games out or sitting on enough of a gap ahead of time.
“The Swans have a good young side and they’ve improved, so we’ll need to be at our best to beat them,” Carver said.
“We want to get more consistent with our scoring and how many minutes of good footy we play.”
Meanwhile, having now dropped six straight, Tatura has the unenviable task of entertaining the last unbeaten side in the competition as Shepparton heads west to tangle at Tatura Park.
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