Goulburn Valley League movements see Nic Jephson depart Kyabram while Jack Hutchins says goodbye to Mansfield
The surging tide of football off-season continues to pull in and out - and for Kyabram, it has claimed another of its premiership stars.
Following the departures of Tom Holman to Tongala and Liam and Eamonn Ogden to Pascoe Vale in the Essendon District Football League, a Bombers prospect has packed up his talents and headed south east.
Nic Jephson, a talented key forward who kicked two goals in Kyabram’s 2025 Goulburn Valley League grand final win, has signed at Geelong Football Netball League club Newton and Chillwell for 2026.
He’ll lace up alongside a familiar face at his new club, too.
Classy left-footer Jephson links up with former Bombers teammate Mitch Dodos, another young forward out of Kyabram’s youth stable who flew the coop at the end of the 2024 GVL campaign.
Dodos enjoyed a fruitful first campaign in the GFNL, finishing among the league’s top 10 goal kickers as he rounded out with 42 majors from 20 games.
Jephson will hope to make a similar mark next season following an injured-marred 2025, where he played just seven games of senior football.
While it may be a concern for Kyabram to see another gun walk out the door, co-coach Corey Carver told the Kyabram Free Press the omissions would only create new opportunities for other Bombers knocking on the door of a senior gig.
“We have a lot of players on the edge of senior selection, and they will now have a better chance to make the team if they are really serious about it,” he said.
“It’s a good challenge for them.”
In other Kyabram-related news, former Bombers thirds star Liam Francis has signed off on his time at Rushworth.
Francis, a two-time Tigers best-and-fairest and 2025 McNamara Medallist in the Kyabram District League, is joining the Ogden brothers at Pascoe Vale in a bid to elevate his game.
Rushworth won’t be left high and dry, though, as the Tigers welcome his younger brother Josh from Kyabram’s under-18s program.
While one league medallist departs, another has confirmed he’s staying.
Mansfield marvel and ex-Collingwood man Callum Brown, this year’s Morrison Medal recipient, has pledged his allegiance to the Eagles after a standout debut season in the GVL.
It comes as a sweetener for the club off the back of news playing co-coach Jack Hutchins won’t be returning in 2026, instead signing for Edith-Aspendale in the Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League.
The former Gold Coast Sun joined the Eagles ahead of the 2022 campaign, helping the side to finals appearances in three out of four seasons back at his hometown club.
On the netball front, Echuca stalwart Belinda Lees has stepped down from her post as playing coach.
Lees took on the top job four years ago, her crowning moment as Echuca’s mentor arriving in 2023 when she led the Murray Bombers to A-grade premiership glory.
Meanwhile, Kyabram has bolstered its playing stocks by beaming in Jazmin Clark from Tongala and former Bomber Lara Cunningham from Geelong region.