Being able to win the clearance differential is regarded by many footy fans as a big part of winning the game.
Winning the stoppages is certainly beneficial, but judging by the numbers, extracting the ball at the coalface might not be as crucial as it once was.
Echuca was untroubled in its demolition of Mansfield at the weekend, cruising to a 42-point win, and with it a 10-1 record.
The clearance numbers, you ask?
A Mansfield domination, claiming the ball a total of 46 times at the stoppage to Echuca’s 33.
The Murray Bombers were trounced in the middle, losing centre clearances eight to 19 and going down 25-27 at stoppages around the ground.
In fact, in the nine wins recorded before playing Mansfield, Echuca had lost the clearance count four times, and finished level on 34 clearances with Euroa in a nine-point win.
When looking at scores from clearance, the importance of winning the count seems even more insignificant.
Echuca has scored more than its opponent from stoppage in every game bar one; a 102-point win over Shepparton Swans.
Despite this, Echuca remains the second-best clearance team in the league, joining Mooroopna as the only other side with an aggregate count above 400.
A better indicator for assessing where Echuca wins the game comes when looking at score from turnover.
Of the 11 games this season, the Murray Bombers have generated more score from turnover than its opponent 10 times, often by large margins.
The one time Echuca didn’t came against Seymour, which remains its only loss for the year.
Off raw numbers alone, the score from turnover metric relays a more accurate idea of the reigning premier’s strength.
Echuca’s average scores and scores against
Average score for: 104.7 points
Average score against: 45.9 points
Average score from stoppage: 30.2 points
Average score against from stoppage: 17.5 points
Average score from turnover: 63.9 points
Average score against from turnover: 22.3 points