While it wasn’t quite the result Mooroopna was hoping for with its finals chances hanging by a thread, Cats fans that made the trip to Mansfield on Saturday were still treated to a show.
The Chris Nield show.
The standout forward in the Goulburn Valley League this season, Nield saved arguably his performance of the year for the high country, booting seven of the Cats’ 10 goals as they fell by 14 points in a thrilling contest at Mansfield Recreation Reserve.
And it wasn’t just the goals that made Nield’s performance so impactful, but the way in which they came that had those watching on simply in awe.
Having coughed up the first four goals of the game, it appeared Mooroopna was in for a long afternoon midway through the first quarter.
But as all star players do, Nield single-handedly brought his team back into the contest, producing a 10-minute patch that completely changed the complexity of the game.
Sporting incredibe efficiency, he turned all three of his first-quarter disposals into goals, bringing the Mooroopna deficit to two points at quarter-time.
But the Cats’ spearhead was only warming up.
As his teammates began to gain ascendancy around the ball — winning clearances by four, marks by 11, tackles by 10 and uncontested possessions by three in the second term — Nield managed to cash in, booting another three goals.
And remarkably, those three majors would again be his only three disposals for the quarter, leaving him with a first half tally of six goals from six touches.
At a glance
Chris Nield’s day out at Mansfield
Goals: 7
Behinds: 0
Disposals: 10
Marks: 5
Marks inside 50: 5
Kicking efficiency: 78 per cent
Put simply it was the perfect half of football for a full-forward, as everything he touched turned to gold for the Cats.
With Nield threatening to take the game away from the Eagles, coach Chad Owens was forced to change the structure of his defence, dropping a wingman behind the ball to limit his space.
And to the Mansfield mastermind’s credit, the plan worked to perfection, as the Cats only managed one more goal for the match, which unsurprisingly came from Nield winning a three-on-one late in the third term to make it seven.
The story would unfortunately have a bitter end for Nield, with a dominant last quarter from Mansfield resulting in him registering zero disposals in the final 25 minutes.
But finishing with 10 disposals, five marks (all inside 50) and seven goals, the performance will still go down as one of the best we’ve seen in GVL football this season.