See some of the best stats from NAB League Boys Round 2, with the Eastern Ranges full of run in a victory over the Western Jets and a dynamic Oakleigh Chargers duo scorching the stats sheet again.
THREE KEYS TO VICTORY
- The Sandringham Dragons boast ball-winning depth the Northern Knights couldn’t match in a 43-point loss to the ladder-leaders. The Dragons had 20 players record 10 or more disposals in their victory while Northern had 13. Captain Ryan Byrnes led the way for Sandringham with 24 disposals, but the next 19 of his teammates picked up between 10 and 18 touches in a remarkable example of sharing the load.
- The Eastern Ranges showed a willingness to play fast in their 63-point defeat of the Western Jets, recording 116 handball-receives – the second-most of the round behind the Oakleigh Chargers – to Western’s 69. The Jets couldn’t contain the damaging run provided by Eastern’s Lachlan Stapleton (33 disposals and 16 handball-receives), Cody Hirst (29 and 10 - pictured) and Zakery Pretty (23 and 10).
- The Bendigo Pioneers scraped home by five points against the Murray Bushrangers in no small part due to their work in the contests. While Murray recorded 38 more uncontested possessions, the Pioneers won 129 contested possessions to 126, which helped them generate a match-winning 47 inside-50s to 37. Thomson Dow (13 contested possessions) and Brodie Kemp (10) were standouts in tight for the victors.
TOP FIVE STATS OF THE WEEK
- Highly rated Tasmania Devils prospect Mitchell O’Neill demonstrated the kind of toughness the Victorian clubs will have to match this season in his team’s 14-point loss to the Sydney Swans Academy. O’Neill recorded 21 disposals and team-highs of 12 contested possessions, 12 clearances, nine tackles and six inside-50s.
- The GWV Rebels came from 20 points behind at three-quarter time to pip the Geelong Falcons by a point thanks to some late heroics from key players. Cooper Craig-Peters had a team-high seven disposals in the final term, while James Cleaver recorded five touches, three inside-50s and a goal to help see the Rebels home.
- The Western Jets may have conceded a round-high 61 inside-50s to the Eastern Ranges, but it gave their defenders plenty of chances to show their wares. Josh Kellett (round-high 12 rebound-50s), Darcy Cassar (nine), Daly Andrews (eight) and Lachlan Rzanovski (six) had 75 per cent of Western’s 47 rebound-50s between them.
- Thomas Wischnat played a huge part in the Brisbane Lions Academy over-running the GWS Giants Academy by 26 points. Brisbane trailed by three points at half time but booted seven goals to three after that point to emerge victorious, with medium forward Wischnat kicking all four of his majors after the main break.
- Noah Anderson could easily feature at no.1 again this week (see stats below), but his Oakleigh Chargers teammate Matthew Rowell produced a similarly impressive stat line in Oakleigh’s 23-point win against the Calder Cannons, racking up 31 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 14 tackles, 10 clearances and seven inside-50s. Anderson and Rowell are now ranked first and second respectively in the competition for total disposals.
ROUND 2 STATS LEADERS
DISPOSALS (44): Noah Anderson (Oakleigh Chargers)
KICKS (26): Noah Anderson (Oakleigh Chargers)
HANDBALLS (19): Mitch Mellis (Eastern Ranges)
MARKS (10): Nicholas Murray (GWS Giants Academy) and Will Quirk (Murray Bushrangers)
TACKLES (14): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)
CLEARANCES (12): Mitchell O’Neill (Tasmania Devils)
CONTESTED POSSESSIONS (20): Noah Anderson (Oakleigh Chargers)
UNCONTESTED POSSESSIONS (24): Noah Anderson (Oakleigh Chargers)
INSIDE-50s (10): Lachlan Stapleton (Eastern Ranges)
REBOUND-50s (12): Josh Kellett (Western Jets)
HITOUTS (35): Stephen Cumming (Northern Territory)
GOALS (4): Charlie Dean (Sandringham Dragons) and Thomas Wischnat (Brisbane Lions Academy)
