See some of the best stats from NAB League Boys Round 17, with a range of Geelong Falcons bottom-agers excelling in the contest and a Western Jets forward taking out the 2019 goalkicking title but being trumped on averages by an Oakleigh Chargers excitement machine.

 

THREE KEYS TO VICTORY

  1. The Geelong Falcons stamped their authority on contests during a 31-point win against the Dandenong Stingrays, winning the counts for contested possessions by 45 and contested marks by 10. Bottom-age trio Archie Hildebrandt (13 contested possessions and six clearances), Charlie Lazzaro (12) and Tanner Bruhn (11 and six clearances) led the Falcons in close around the ground, with their work allowing Geelong forwards like Charlie Sprague (two contested marks and six goals) and Oliver Henry (two and two goals) to take advantage inside 50.

 

  1. Any team hoping to knock off the Oakleigh Chargers this September will need to keep watch on a range of their on-ballers who can easily get off the leash. The Chargers recorded a clear round-high 202 uncontested possessions in their comeback seven-point victory over the Sandringham Dragons – 30 more than their opponents, and with three players posting the top totals in that category for Round 17. Trent Bianco (round-high 22 uncontested possessions), Jeromy Lucas (21) and Matthew Rowell (20) all managed to find too much space in which to do damage against Sandringham.

 

  1. The defence of the Eastern Ranges managed to prevent the Calder Cannons’ stoppage guns from wreaking havoc on the scoreboard, with Eastern’s last-kick four-point triumph achieved despite losing the counts for contested possessions by 11, clearances by 14 and inside-50s by eight. Daniel Mott and Sam Ramsay regularly drove the Cannons forward from contests, but with Billy McCormack (game-high six marks) standing tall in the back half and Todd Garner (six rebound-50s) and captain James Ross (three) counter-attacking, the Ranges absorbed many of Calder’s best shots.

 

TOP FIVE STATS OF THE WEEK

  1. The Northern Knights relied on ball control to set up forward forays and deny the Western Jets their own chances to score in a 32-point win, taking a round-high 98 marks – 37 more than the Jets. Ryan Sturgess was so often the key link for Northern, recording a round-high 13 marks – five more than any teammate and seven more than any Western player – to go with his 21 disposals.

 

  1. The Gippsland Power’s Baldi twins were a key part of their team defeating the Bendigo Pioneers by 10 points despite conceding more contested possessions, uncontested possessions and clearances. Riley Baldi (equal-game-high six clearances from 27 disposals) and Trent Baldi (four from 14 disposals) combined to help keep Gippsland competitive at stoppages.

 

  1. Jay Rantall posted a round-high in tackles for the second straight week as his GWV Rebels turned the screws on the Murray Bushrangers during a 15-point victory. With the Bushrangers recording 19 more disposals and 16 more inside-50s than GWV, the Rebels would have welcomed the former Australian basketballer’s 18 tackles – among a round-high team total of 106 – in order to help win the ball back.

 

  1. Archi Manton secured the 2019 NAB League Boys goalkicking title by kicking three of the Western Jets’ four majors in their loss to the Northern Knights. The top-age son of former Essendon and Carlton player Glenn Manton ended the home-and-away season on 28 goals from 15 games (going goalless only twice), just ahead of Northern’s Josh D’Intinosante who kicked four in the same match to finish on 26 majors.

 

  1. In terms of the best averages for goals per game this season though, Oakleigh Chargers bottom-ager Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (pictured, right) takes the chocolates with 17 majors from six matches (2.83 per game). The key forward booted four in Oakleigh’s Round 17 victory over the Sandringham Dragons, with teammate Noah Anderson ranking second for average goals with 11 from four outings (2.75 per game).

 

ROUND 17 STATS LEADERS

DISPOSALS (34): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)

KICKS (25): Riley Ironside (Bendigo Pioneers)

HANDBALLS (20): Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)

MARKS (13): Ryan Sturgess (Northern Knights)

TACKLES (18): Jay Rantall (GWV Rebels)

CLEARANCES (10): Luca Goonan (Dandenong Stingrays), Daniel Mott (Calder Cannons) and Matthew Rowell (Oakleigh Chargers)

CONTESTED POSSESSIONS (21): Cooper Craig-Peters (GWV Rebels)

UNCONTESTED POSSESSIONS (22): Trent Bianco (Oakleigh Chargers)

INSIDE-50s (9): William Lewis (Dandenong Stingrays) and Josh Watson (Northern Knights)

REBOUND-50s (9): Jesse Clark (Geelong Falcons)

HITOUTS (36): Riley Smith (Eastern Ranges)

GOALS (6): Charlie Sprague (Geelong Falcons)