When Sam Willoughby’s name was read out as the recipient of the AFL Victoria Country Medal and Ruory Kirkby the winner of the Wilf Cox Medal, there were few in the crowd at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton, who could say they were surprised.
The two Murray Bombers guns were crucial cogs in Echuca’s pulsating Goulburn Valley League grand final win over Euroa on Sunday.
Willoughby — straight back into Andrew Walker and Simon Maddox’s 22 after recovering from a hip complaint and assuming some of the workload of the suspended Jack McHale — was supreme at the coal-face.
In the forward line, Kirkby was equally as dominant and kicked four crucial goals to spearhead the Murray Bombers’ scoring.
The stats clearly reflect the impact these two had on the decider and, thanks to GVL Data, we can take a magnifying glass to their games on Sunday.
Willoughby showed his class through the middle of the ground and was never far from the action.
The star on-baller gathered 26 disposals and used the ball to good effect, going at 73 per cent efficiency by foot and 75 per cent by hand.
He wasn’t done there and chalked up eight contested possessions and 15 uncontested possessions.
Seven clearances, seven ground ball gets and four tackles rounded out a complete midfield performance.
At the receiving end of Willoughby’s work, Kirkby showed those around him the way forward.
The Echuca gun plucked six contested marks, all inside Echuca’s forward 50.
It’s no surprise he finished as clear leader in the forward 50 mark category this year (130), more than 20 clear of his nearest opponent.
Renowned for his tackling prowess, Willoughby finished his season in fifth for total tackles in 2022 (101), averaging 5.6 a game.
After finishing runner-up on the league goal-kicking leaderboard this season, Kirkby’s finals majors took his tally to a huge 85 goals this year.