See some of the best stats from NAB League Boys Round 12, when tough conditions resulted in huge tackle counts and some remarkable inaccuracy from the Murray Bushrangers in their tense win against the Bendigo Pioneers.
THREE KEYS TO VICTORY
- Yes, conditions were poor across Victoria in Round 12, but the Murray Bushrangers’ winning score of 3.22 (40) against the Bendigo Pioneers (who kicked 4.6) in Echuca is still something rarely seen in football. Murray’s sheer weight of opportunity inside 50 (54 entries to 33) eventually saw it sneak home, with the inaccuracy of the likes of Ryley Bouker (four behinds), James Boyer (1.4), Jye Chalcraft (three behinds) and Will Chandler (three - pictured) all ‘helping’ in some small way.
- The GWV Rebels proved much more damaging moving the ball out of congestion than the Dandenong Stingrays in a 28-point victory. The Stingrays won 38 clearances to 34, but GWV big man Patrick Glanford’s round-high 48 hitouts – 31 more than any other ruck on the ground – helped give his midfielders quality use of the ball going forward. Glanford also generated an equal-team-high four clearances himself, alongside Mitch Martin and Riley Polkinghorne.
- Mark numbers were predictably low on the weekend due to the difficult conditions, but the Oakleigh Chargers seemingly had few issues in the air during an 18-point defeat of the Sandringham Dragons. The Chargers recorded round-highs of 65 total marks (10 more than Sandringham) and 11 contested marks (seven more), with 181cm Vincent Zagari (round-high three contested marks) and talls Thomas Lovell and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (two each) all winning crucial aerial battles.
TOP FIVE STATS OF THE WEEK
- On a weekend when finding the ball in space was at a premium, Calder Cannons top-ager Curtis Brown made it look easy. Playing as a running defender in Calder’s 22-point defeat of the Western Jets, Brown had a round-high 21 uncontested possessions (four more than any other player) among his 29 disposals, also generating a team-high six rebound-50s.
- Speaking of rebounders, Bendigo Pioneers defenders had plenty of chances to pad out their stats given their conquerors the Murray Bushrangers kicked 22 behinds. The chief beneficiaries from a statistical point of view were Pioneers captain James Schishcka and Will Wallace, who each recorded a round-high nine rebound-50s.
- Back at the Calder Cannons, 16-year-old Flynn Gentile joined his top-age brother Ned Gentile in the team’s Round 12 line-up and both made a similar impact on the stats sheet. While Ned recorded 22 disposals, five clearances and eight inside-50s, Flynn posted 17 touches, five clearances and five tackles. The younger Gentile also booted a goal, where his elder sibling could only manage two behinds.
- Jye Chalcraft has had a brutal couple of games for the Murray Bushrangers, recording round-highs for contested possessions over the last two weeks. After racking up 20 contested possessions in Round 11, the 176cm top-ager won 22 (five more than any other player in Round 12 so far) among his 33 disposals in Murray’s win against the Bendigo Pioneers.
- Sam Berry was a clear match-winner in the Gippsland Power’s four-point comeback triumph over the Geelong Falcons, recording 20 disposals and game-highs of 17 contested possessions, nine clearances and three goals. The 180cm bottom-ager also laid 18 tackles, but remarkably this wasn’t the highest tally for the match or the round – Geelong’s Clay Page applied 19 on his Power opponents.
ROUND 12 STATS LEADERS (including Tasmania Devils vs Eastern Ranges match on Saturday July 13)
DISPOSALS (33): Jye Chalcraft (Murray Bushrangers) and Mitch Mellis (Eastern Ranges)
KICKS (22): Harrison Minton-Connell (Calder Cannons)
HANDBALLS (21): Sam Ramsay (Calder Cannons)
MARKS (7): Ben Hickleton (Eastern Ranges) and Wil Parker (Eastern Ranges)
TACKLES (19): Clay Page (Geelong Falcons)
CLEARANCES (10): Mitch Mellis (Eastern Ranges)
CONTESTED POSSESSIONS (22): Jye Chalcraft (Murray Bushrangers)
UNCONTESTED POSSESSIONS (21): Curtis Brown (Calder Cannons)
INSIDE-50s (8): Ned Gentile (Calder Cannons)
REBOUND-50s (9): James Schischka (Bendigo Pioneers) and Will Wallace (Bendigo Pioneers)
HITOUTS (48): Patrick Glanford (GWV Rebels)
GOALS (4): Jackson Callow (Tasmania Devils)
