It was a dirty day for Mooroopna last time it crossed paths with Rochester in Goulburn Valley League.
The 56-point Rochester win was one of the first serious signals that this outfit under Ash Watson was nothing to mess with in 2024.
It produced some downright ugly numbers for blue and white faithful, with some stats more closely resembling indictments against John Lamont’s men.
Rochester running the show - stats that mattered from round six
Marks inside 50: 17-9
Turnovers given up in defence: 1-10
Midfield tackles: 69-45
Contested possessions: 171-134
Scores from turnovers: 12.4 (76) - 3.6 (24)
A 52-point difference in scores picked up from forcing turnovers accounts for almost the entire winning margin, with the Cats coming close to taking honours in scores out of stoppages.
Creating no fewer than 10 turnovers in defence is particularly mortal from a Mooroopna perspective, but so is getting utterly taken over in terms of ferocity at midfield contests.
There have been days in 2024, even against barometer sides like Echuca, where the Cats conceded fewer tackles across the entire ground than they did in the midfield alone on that fateful afternoon against Rochester.
Equally damning was Mooroopna’s return of 1.1 (7) from its nine marks inside 50.
One can assume, though, that the absence of Daniel Johnston — which won’t be a factor this time around — may have created some teething issues a few weeks into the year for a relatively new-look forward line.
Regardless the visitors to Moon Oval were towelled up that day and coach John Lamont certainly hadn’t forgotten in his post-match comments following the win over Mansfield last weekend.
Enough about the past, though — what can Mooroopna do to try and snatch third spot this Saturday?
The Cats are still averaging the most touches across the competition, having dramatically improved their overall ball movement since that day with a league-best 73 per cent disposal efficiency — while Rochester’s efficiency by foot sits 10th at 59 per cent.
Rochester maintains solid advantages in all the contested categories despite Mooroopna laying claim to some of the more talented individual ball-winners in the competition, including often-prominent ruck Keelin Betson, who has had a number of eye-catching standout performances.
It’s behind the ball where the game might be won and lost in this case, though, with neither side frequently displaying free-scoring resolve.
It’s not the tallest back six at the Cattery, but curtailing the aerial prowess of Wil Hamilton and Sean Williams, both of whom sit in the top 10 for contested grabs, is obviously of the essence — especially after the latter’s haul of five led to the same number of goals off his boot.
· This week’s One FM broadcast match is Mooroopna v Rochester at Mooroopna, on air from 1.30pm.