IT’S only his first year at the club, but Duane ‘Brush’ Haebich is having the time of his life with Goorambat.

The damaging forward leads the league senior goal kicking charts with 53 snags from nine outings, averaging a smidge under six majors per game.

Haebich came to the Bat Cave with a footy resume which would stack up with the best of them, with successful stints at Tungamah, Benalla Saints, Benalla All Blacks and Tocumwal, and more than a few leading goal kicker gongs.

Lured across by Bats coach and good mate Ben Wapling, Haebich wasted no time settling into the new digs, kicking four and six goals in his first two games in the green, gold and silver, before dining out with a haul of 10 in round five.

While his own boot looks to be made of gold, Haebich said he was enjoying this season of football more than any other because of the environment and culture at the club.

“The club has been absolutely unbelievable – it’s probably my most fun year of footy because they’ve just opened their arms up to me and my little fella, he’s six and he just loves footy,” ‘Brush’ said.

“When you get there, you know you’re playing country footy, it’s the epitome of a country footy club.

“I’ve never been at a club that’s so together – I’ve played at a few successful clubs and they’ve all got their groups here, there and everywhere, but this club has just been unreal.

“There’s not one person at that club I wouldn’t go and sit with and have a talk with, everyone’s fantastic.”

Originally brought in as a senior head around a developing side, Haebich had nothing but praise for his teammates.

“With me coming in there, it’s given it a different dynamic,” he said.

“I think I’ve just given them a voice down there where it was just bomb and hope for the best – I’ve got a bit of a voice where I can structure them up and let their potential come out.

“Even the younger blokes at training come up to me and ask me questions, and it sort of blows my mind a bit that I’m having a little bit of an impact on helping them get better, which is what I’m there for, that’s what ‘Wappa’ wanted me there for, to help them get better.

“You’re really starting to see it with Rhys Goodley and Dylan Beavis, even Brayden Stepien, we’re structured better.

“Our captain, Jamie Dunne, I’ve come in and I’m there for him to lean on a little bit

“For a young fella who’s got a lot on his shoulders, a great player and gets tagged nearly every week, the way he’s handled himself is impressive - it’s good to work with a young fella like that who takes everything on board and brings it on a Saturday every week.”

In their 14 years in the Ovens and King competition, Goorambat has made the senior finals series only three times, most recently in 2022.

Haebich feels the time is right for the Bats to flip the competition on its head.

“I think we can do something special,” he said.

“I’ve played in a lot of good teams who have got a lot of talent, but this group, I can just tell they’ve hungry, I can feel something special’s about to happen with them.

“Our aim is finals, we’ll settle for nothing less - I know we’ve got a few blokes out but we’ve got no excuses and we don’t want excuses.

“We’re not the richest club in the league, we haven’t got all this money to spend on Melbourne players or this and that.

“We’re looking local but we’re looking for people who want to come in and buy in to what we’re doing.”