Benalla has endured a tough start to the 2024 Goulburn Valley League campaign, but there have been a few standouts among the string of tough defeats.
An injury-stricken Saints, reportedly missing eight senior players through knocks, sit 11th on the GVL ladder above winless Seymour with a 0-1-2 ledger.
However, one man seems to perform in the face of adversity consistently.
Gun mid Chris Welsh has been named in the best players in all four of Benalla’s outings this season, and his statistics match up and pay testament to that.
Welsh is averaging 30.2 disposals and 13.8 contested possessions per game, sitting in eighth spot for best in the competition in both categories.
With a mean of three centre clearances, the Saints’ key man is the GVL’s sixth most influential player in clearing the stoppage from the middle of the ground while an average of 5.5 inside 50s a game lands him a spot in the top 10 in that regard.
Chris Welsh’s 2024 per game averages
Disposals: 30.2
Contested possessions: 13.8
Clearances: 6
Inside 50s: 5.5
Pressure acts: 6.3
Total groundball gets: 8.2
Another stat that Welsh has top 10 status in is pressure acts (6.3 per game), meaning the Benalla man is not shy about doing the dirty work when the going gets tough.
He is elite by definition, and this is backed up by statistics provider Premier Data.
Welsh is ranked ‘elite’ in many of the categories mentioned above in which he sits inside the league’s top 10 for, as well as intercept possessions, clearances and total groundball gets.
So, how does Welsh’s start to 2024 compare with his 2023 record?
Last season, the long-time Saint averaged 25.6 disposals, 9.8 contested possessions, 5.2 clearances and 4.6 inside 50s which is impressive by anyone’s standards.
The hard running midfielder has upped the ante this year despite Benalla still without a victory four games in, suggesting Welsh is only getting better with every game he plays.
It’s a fitting reward for a man who has stuck by the Saints through thick and thin, with Welsh currently in his 10th season as a senior Benalla player.