It turns out this title is big enough for both of them.
Round 11 of Goulburn Valley League featured a remarkable duel in the middle at Benalla Showgrounds, leading to the second straight week where rucks shine in the eyes of GVL Data.
However, this time Benalla’s Mark Marriott and Tatura’s Jacob Simpson could not be split, with iron continuing to sharpen iron throughout the day as the two big men locked horns.
Big day out - Mark Marriott v Jacob Simpson
Disposals: 26-20
Contested possessions: 18-13
Inside 50s: 2-9
Tackles: 3-9
Hit-outs: 45-42
The two clear standouts on the day, Marriott and Simpson put in enormous work rate through all four quarters to sit tied at the magical 200-ranking point mark.
Fight judges would likely have scored the first term 10-8 Marriott as the Saints’ talisman notched seven touches amid a giant effort with five one-percenters, completing two spoils to boot, while both assisted a goal in a tight-fisted quarter on the scoreboard.
The two titans stood head and shoulders above the rest in the second stanza, with Marriott finding the ball 10 times (eight contested) and firmly took the chocolates in the ground duel with four unanswered ground ball gets.
Meanwhile, Simpson again presented more of an offensive threat with a couple of inside 50s alongside a pair of clearances and another goal assist to keep himself — and Tatura — in the fight.
Curiously, Simpson dominated his adversary in the third term even as the tide rapidly began to turn against the Bulldogs.
The Tatura big man had it all his own way regardless of the team’s fortunes, crashing through with four tackles and four inside 50s in doing all he could to prevent what was quickly looking inevitable.
Benalla took a firm stranglehold of things in the last half-hour to completely run away with the contest, but all seven of Simpson’s disposals were contested in a valiant final stand that also saw him land more hit-outs — continuing to average 43 a game.
Marriott was the one who got to sing the song, though, and he rode the game out powerfully with a huge closing effort that included three clearances, two contested marks and four goal involvements.
It felt only fitting that this contest — which saw Marriott find the big sticks twice himself, for all the talk of Simpson’s attacking contributions — ended in a dead heat, at least in terms of ranking points.
With absences galore at Tatura and the Saints embarking on a miserable opening couple of months in their own right to start 2024, there was plenty for both sets of fans to like about this contest.