See the key stats that helped the Oakleigh Chargers earn premiership glory in the 2019 NAB League Boys Grand Final against the Eastern Ranges.
OAKLEIGH CHARGERS 12.17 (89) d EASTERN RANGES 5.6 (36)
KEY TO VICTORY: Oakleigh’s triumph was as thorough on the stats sheet as it was on the scoreboard, the Chargers winning all major categories except hitouts (33-36) and, not surprisingly, rebound-50s (22-48). Indeed, Oakleigh’s winning margin could have been much greater if it wasn’t for the desperate efforts of the under-siege Ranges in defence – players like Wil Parker (game-high 11 rebound-50s), Josh Clarke (seven) and Joel Nathan (five and a game-high four one-percenters).
It started in the contest for the Chargers, recording 139 contested possessions to 107 and 42 clearances to 29 – best-on-ground medal winner Matthew Rowell again proving unstoppable in tight with game-highs of 26 contested possessions (15 more than any other player) and 12 clearances. Oakleigh then found too much space in which to control the ball, racking up 201 uncontested possessions to 145 and 91 marks to 37. Here it was Kaden Schreiber (game-highs of 19 uncontested possessions and 11 marks) and Chargers co-captain Trent Bianco (19 and 10 marks) who carved Eastern up on the outside.
That domination of possession led to Oakleigh generating 61 inside-50s to 27, and despite a host of missed chances in front of goal, the weight of opportunity eventually saw the likes of Jeromy Lucas (three goals - pictured, left), Bailey Laurie (two), Will Phillips (two) and Rowell (two) punish the Ranges on the scoreboard – particularly with a burst of seven majors in nine minutes late in the third quarter. The Chargers were also relentless when they didn’t have the ball, laying as many tackles as Eastern (61) despite having 82 more disposals. Yet again, it was the tireless Rowell who led the way for the premiers in both regards with game-highs of nine tackles and 44 disposals.
BEST STAT: Let’s compare Rowell’s standout performance with his best-on-ground effort in Oakleigh’s 2018 Grand Final loss to the Dandenong Stingrays. While the possible top pick at November’s NAB AFL Draft recorded game-highs in six categories against the Ranges (see above, as well as six inside-50s and four score assists), he ‘only’ led all comers in four categories as a bottom-ager last year: disposals (32), uncontested possessions (23), marks (11) and inside-50s (seven).
GRAND FINAL STATS LEADERS
DISPOSALS (44): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
KICKS (21): Trent Bianco (Oakleigh Chargers)
HANDBALLS (28): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
MARKS (11): Kaden Schreiber (Oakleigh Chargers)
TACKLES (9): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
CLEARANCES (12): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
CONTESTED POSSESSIONS (26): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
UNCONTESTED POSSESSIONS (19): Trent Bianco (Oakleigh Chargers) and Kaden Schreiber (Oakleigh Chargers)
INSIDE-50s (6): Trent Bianco (Oakleigh Chargers), Bailey Laurie (Oakleigh Chargers), Will Phillips (Oakleigh Chargers), Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Oakleigh Chargers)
REBOUND-50s (11): Wil Parker (Eastern Ranges)
HITOUTS (26): Nick Bryan (Oakleigh Chargers)
GOALS (3): Jeromy Lucas (Oakleigh Chargers)
