His peers labelled him the “The Wiz’’ as a teenager and it’s proving an appropriate tag.
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The Wiz is Kyabram’s Kyle Mueller, who is in the prime of his sporting life and arguably the Goulburn Valley’s premier sportsman considering his deeds on the cricket pitch and football field and beyond for the past 15 years.
The cropping farmer was good at these mainstream sports from the moment he started playing them.
A young man of few words, but with a generous helping of once-in-a-lifetime generation of sporting ability, The Wiz has always let his actions do the talking for his freakish ability.
He once bagged 13 goals in an under-14 game in the Goulburn Murray Junior Football League to display some of his now renowned elusive brilliance, marking power and kicking accuracy.
And in cricket he announced himself early as a batter, keeper and fielder well above his teammates.
In the Kyabram District Cricket Association premiership showdown against cross-town rival Fire Brigade in the 2011-12 season, he and another talented youngster, Matt Ryan, looked the only Kyabram batters at ease against a potent Brigade bowling attack headed by former Victorian seconds representative David Newman.
In that year Mueller was selected in the KDCA’s representative side for Melbourne Country Cricket Week, recognised as the holy grail of competition for country cricketers.
He was 13 years of age and still is the youngest player to represent the KDCA at the Melbourne carnival.
And with the folding of the KDCA at the end of the 2011-12 season it means it is a record that will stand for eternity.
There was more historic glory for The Wiz early last year when led the Kyabram Cricket Club side to its first Haisman Shield premiership in the top tier of pennant cricket in the Cricket Shepparton competition.
Personally, he had played a key role during the home and away season with the most runs — 612 — in this competition during the regular season and also the previous season.
And this year he took this title again with 762 runs for the regular season at the mind-blowing average of 108.
Some pundits believe he could even become the first Cricket Shepparton batter to make 1000 runs in a season.
The modern-day Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield record of most runs in a season is held by Numurkah master blaster Mark Brown with 849 in 2012-13 ahead of Central Park-St Brendan’s star Sam Ahmet, who made 831 in the 2006-07 season, Mooroopna’s Brad Lowe, who compiled 753 in the 2002-03 season, and Central Park’s Rohan Larkin with 749 in the 2004-05 season.
But it’s football not cricket behind my decision to include Mueller in my series of Freakish Sporting Feats.
He topped the Goulburn Valley League goal-kicking list in 2019 with 66 goals, but was always among the league’s leading goal-kickers in his time with the Bombers.
He switched to Murray Football League club Congupna last year where he proceeded to kick 100 goals – his 100th coming in the grand final — and helped the club win its first flag in the league and end a long premiership drought for the club.
But his most productive day at the goal front last year was what got everyone talking.
It was in round 17 against Barooga at Barooga where he weaved his well-known wizardry.
He kicked 15 goals and one behind in that game.
Yes, one behind and 15 goals.
Now that’s a freakish strike rate almost most unheard of … but something not entirely unexpected from the The Wiz.
Kyle Mueller.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
NEXT UP IN GUS UNDERWOOD’S FREAKISH SPORTING FEATS: Simon Maddox and Curtis Townrow
Premierships can prove elusive to win, but two Echuca sportsmen may argue that. With good reason.
Simon Maddox and Curtis Townrow have been members of Echuca cricket and football sides that have won seven successive flags.
Read Gus Underwood’s take on Maddox and Townrow’s Freakish Sporting Feat in next Friday’s News.
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