Sitting on top of the ladder at 9-0, the reigning premier had lost just one of its past 34 games.
Leigh Matthews, the coach of the Lions, unlike many thought the Bombers were mortal, drawing on a quote from the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic movie Predator.
“If it bleeds, we can kill it. And we reckon Essendon can bleed,” Matthews said.
When Kyabram stepped foot on Victoria Park, Echuca on Saturday afternoon, they were 85-1 since the start of the 2016 Goulburn Valley League season.
And not only had Ky beaten Echuca when the teams last played off in the 2019 GVL grand final, the Murray Bombers hadn't beaten Kyabram since 2011.
But the expression remains true - ‘if it bleeds, we can kill it'.
And on Saturday afternoon, the death blow was struck.
Echuca co-coach Andrew Walker, who left the game in the opening quarter with injury, could not wipe the smile off his face post-game.
“It's probably the proudest I've been of this group,” he said.
“At the end of the day you have to hold it to Kyabram. They've been the benchmark for so long, and they push all of us to be better as football clubs to try and catch them.
“To come out today and beat them, it's a reflection of the work we have been doing and the direction we are moving in.”
Echuca's win over Kyabram on Saturday afternoon is one that - while just another home-and-away game in the grand scheme of things - has major impacts for the Murray Bombers going forward.
None bigger than their belief they were good enough to beat Kyabram now being a proven reality.
The two teams will meet again in round 15 on Ky's home soil, but for now, Echuca has finally done the near on impossible.
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