Ten marks inside forward 50 by Mooroopna full forward Chris Nield was the highest ranking statistic recorded by GVL Data from the weekend’s round 12 Goulburn Valley League match between the Cats and Rochester.
Nield’s tally was three more than the entire Tigers team and he converted eight of those marks into goals as he extended his lead at the top of the GVL goal-kicking table.
Not surprisingly the teams that take the most marks inside the forward 50 are at the top of the Goulburn Valley League rankings; Echuca averages 20 marks a match inside the 50-metre arc and Euroa is second (17).
The Mooroopna key forward, who has 53 goals for the season and leads the field by 10 from Echuca’s Ruory Kirkby, accounted for 10 of the Cats’ 13 marks inside forward 50.
Spring-heeled Tigers forward Mitchell Cricelli is third on the goal-kicking table with 29 goals, but the team was without a multiple goal-kicker on the weekend.
Cricelli and coach Steve Stroobants were kept to one goal apiece as Mooroopna scored 15 goals from its 47 entries inside 50, compared to Rochester’s five goals from 34 entries.
Rochester won the clearances, ruckman Dan Russell breaking even with Cats big man Liam Betson, but it was the Mooroopna star who finished with 23 possessions and nine clearances to take the honours on the day.
Nield, however, was clearly the most influential player on the field as he kicked an eight-goal bag for the second time this season.
Before Saturday Nield and Kirkby had both taken 67 marks inside the attacking 50, 30 clear of the next best; interestingly Rochester key forward Cricelli and Kyabram livewire Cooper Vick.
The round 12 match rankings were dominated by Nield, his 13 kicks netted an 8.2 return as Mooroopna confirmed its top three ranking, behind Echuca and Euroa.
Mooroopna was dominant in the air, taking 29 more marks for the afternoon and finishing with 65 more possessions than the Tigers in the 56-point win.
Full Rochester statistics are on page 14 in our GVL Data summary of the weekend.