Echuca is the first side through to the Goulburn Valley League senior grand final, and will search for a historic three-peat, after a 43-point win over Rochester at the weekend.
The Tigers were dogged against the champions, but the Murray Bombers’ quality shone across the park and Rochester must now do something it hasn’t done so far this season, defeat Shepparton Bears, to earn another shot at Echuca on the final day.
The intensity of finals footy buoyed Echuca to achieve something that few sides have been able to accomplish in 2024, out-pressure Rochester.
The Tigers are the league leaders in pressure acts and spoils, averaging 63.5 and 19.4 respectively.
Both sides were down on their averages when it came to pressure acts but it was Echuca who had a big lead in this metric 44-33, also leading convincingly in overall pressure 141-115, while spoiling more often than the Tigers, 20-17.
The Murray Bombers, who average the second least tackles per game of any team in the GVL at 54.8, were well up for the arm wrestle on Saturday, making a massive 81 tackles compared to Rochy’s 68.
This additional pressure forced the Tigers into 79 turnovers, compared to Echuca’s 65, which the grand finalists punished mercilessly, scoring 11.12 from turnovers in the game.
The clearance battle was mostly neutral, Echuca leading the overall count 41-40, but the Murray Bombers were much more efficient when they did earn clearances, picking out an effective target 63 per cent of the time compared to Rochester’s 50 per cent.
Hit-outs also went Echuca’s way, 51-45, and the Murray Bombers had a particular edge in directing them to advantage, leading 11-5 in this category.
Echuca vs Rochester
Overall pressure: 141-115
Pressure acts: 44-33
Tackles: 81-68
Turnovers: 65-79
Clearance efficiency: 63%-50%
Hit outs to advantage: 11-5