GVL Data’s introduction into the lives of Goulburn Valley League football followers has added a new dimension to the “pub talk” that is so strongly aligned to the on-field performance of the 12 clubs in the highly respected country football league.
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No longer is it good enough to roll up to your favourite bar stool and spruik an opinion on a player, without having the necessary statistical information to back up the claims.
Likewise, it is now incumbent on these passionate followers of our national sport to be armed with the necessary information to assess who should be the target off their other-side-of-the-fence advice on weekends.
We thought we’d make it a bit easier on their amateur experts by providing a bit of an insight into who are the head turners from the opposition clubs that the Kyabram Bombers will be coming up against in the next two months of home and away competition.
Kyabram supporters haven’t had to look too far for topics this season, outstanding starts to the 2024 season by a couple of unlikely individuals dominating conversation between sips of their chosen beverage.
Jake Parkinson has come from the clouds to now rank inside the top 10 ball winners in the competition.
He is averaging a tick under 30 disposals and is ranked elite for ground ball gets, intercept possessions, rebound 50s and back 50 tackles.
He has more than trebled the amount of ball he has won on a weekly basis this season, having a season high of 38 disposals to follow up the previous week’s 35 disposal-132 ranking point game in the three-point loss against Euroa.
Nick Jephson is the other to step up in the absence of Kaine Pettifer and Kyle Mueller, kicking five goals in his first four senior games and having a season high 20 disposals, eight marks and six inside 50s in the win against Shepparton United.
If he had kicked straighter, he finished with 3.4, the game would have been even more impressive.
In the next few weeks, the Bombers face only teams that played finals football last season — Echuca in round 11 and two weeks later, Euroa.
They face the as yet, unbeaten Shepparton Bears in round nine in what is shaping as their next big test of the season.
After Seymour, the side has Tatura (ninth) and Shepparton Swans (eighth), then confront 11th ranked Benalla after the Bears match (as the ladder stands).
Here are the players from those clubs who the armchair and bar stool experts should be focusing in on in coming weeks.
Round six and 17 v Seymour: High flyer Riley Mason is a game breaker who is averaging eight marks and has kicked 18 goals in three games (including eight last weekend). He and Nathan Fowler, who also averages three goals a game, present a tough two pronged attack that will test the Bombers defence is Jason Morgan is not there to mind one of the stars.
Round seven v Tatura: Ryan is a name that has dominated GVL football headlines for decades, and Bradley Ryan is continuing the trend. He is averaging a massive 142.5 ranking points a game, 30 disposals, eight marks, an extraordinary 12 rebound 50s and six spoils a game. Make sure you turn up for the Tatura and Kyabram game because he will be worth watching. He also has an amazing 7.5 one-percenters on a weekly basis and is, at this early stage, the league’s outstanding defender.
Round eight v Shepparton Swans: Enrique Goggin is in only his second season of full-time senior football, but his statistics are off the charts. He has 161 ranking points against Mooroopna a few weeks ago, racking up eight clearances, eight inside 50s, give centre clearances and a massive 12 tackles (10 of which stuck) to go with his 22 possessions. Nathan Hrovat is also worth a look, he is also a clearance beast with a 21.2 disposal average and has a season high of 29 disposals.
Round nine v Shepparton Bears: Luke Smith is the leading contested ball winner in the competition. He is fifth for overall disposals, is the top clearance player in the GVL and has kicked 17 goals — he is the real deal. Last year he kicked 59 goals in 15 games for Picola league club Katandra, having spent the summer starring for Northern Territory Football League club Southern Districts (kicking 30 goals, including three in a near best on ground display in the grand final). Another Picola league recruit, Ash Holland, is averaging 50 hit outs (12 to advantage) and is the most prolific ruckman in both these categories. The former Waaia star’s battle with Marcus Khoo will be a season highlight.
Round 10 v Benalla: Christopher Welsh continues to rack up the numbers, 30.2 disposal average, six clearances and almost six inside 50s. If you are keen to watch a great tackler, then Colby Mathieson is your man. He followed up his 11 tackle first round game with a half a dozen tackles every week since.
Round 11 v Echuca: Son of a gun, Angus Byrne is the most prolific marking player in the competition, and has backed it up with a dozen goals. He is not goal square bound by any stretch, averaging 20 disposals, 3.2 inside 50s and he has 12 goals to his name from four rounds. Another watch player for Kyabram footy fans is will-o’-the-wisp Jackson Stewart, who has more inside 50 tackles than any other player (averaging six a game), kicks more than a goal a week and averages 20-plus disposals
Round 12 v Rochester: The Tigers sit sixth on the ladder, thanks in large to the influence of former Bendigo league star Mitch Trewhella. He is averaging 24 disposals, is elite for clearances (8.2 a game) and is also elite for tackles, having laid almost nine a game in his opening weeks of GVL football. Wil Hamilton’s return from injury has also made a big difference, elite for contested marks, with eight goals and providing an excellent spoil for Sean Williams and Mitch Cricelli — who have borne the load for the last couple of seasons at Tigerland.
Round 13 v Euroa: Decorated Amateurs footballer Michael Barnes is averaging 22.2 disposals a game and has 30 touches against the Bombers, along with six clearances. Nate Trotter is the other player to keep an eye on the next time the clubs play, averaging 24 disposals, eight intercept possessions and half a dozen rebound 50s.
• For the record, the player who is leading the competition in disposals has a close affiliation with both the Kyabram and Tongala clubs.
Coby McCarthy, who joined Mooroopna this year, has taken the competition by storm and in the Cats five-point win against Shepparton Swans had a massive 43 disposals, 10 clearances, four tackles and kicked a goal.
He is averaging more than 33 disposals and almost 130 ranking points, both elite, and is also averaging eight clearances and nine ground ball gets.
McCarthy, a former Murray league best and fairest winner, played eight games in two seasons with the Bombers before joining Tongala in 2019. In that first season with the Blues he kicked 37 goals from the mid-field in 22 games.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor