Rochester coach Ash Watson described his side’s 11-point triumph over Shepparton Swans as a real “arm-wrestle” and it certainly looks that way on paper.
The game was evenly spread across the major statistical columns and it was only in some areas of the game, mainly hit-outs and loose ball gets, that one of the two sides dominated in.
The Tigers, who trailed by seven points at the final break, were able to boot four goals to one in the fourth term to overrun the visitors at Moon Oval.
But it wasn’t as if the travelling Swans didn’t have their chances in the final term.
The Swans racked up 98 to 56 disposals in the final term, while they were able to get their hands on the loose balls with 26 to seven for the quarter.
The Swans won the clearance count (10-7), tackle count (17-15) and tied Rochester for inside 50 entries with 14 apiece.
Key stats
Disposals
Rochester: 274
Shepparton Swans: 330
Contested possessions
Rochester: 128
Shepparton Swans: 142
Loose ball gets
Rochester: 29
Shepparton Swans: 77
Hit-outs
Rochester: 49
Shepparton Swans: 29
Clearances
Rochester: 27
Shepparton Swans: 40
Inside 50s
Rochester: 52
Shepparton Swans: 51
Turnovers
Rochester: 76
Shepparton Swans: 72
Rochester brought the pressure and posted 17 to 11 pressure acts for the final term.
Jedd Wright’s charges lacked polish going forward and squandered opportunities, which is highlighted by their low scoring efficiency.
The visitors went at 14 per cent in the final term and no doubt that will be an area the first-year Swans mentor highlights this week at training.
Overall, both sides were able to score well off turnovers ― something both sides managed to post a lot of in the round 11 clash.
Rochester posted 76 turnovers for the match, while the Swans were four behind with 72.
In terms of scoring off those errors, the Tigers managed 8.8 (56) compared to the Swans who registered 7.9 (51).