With key players Nick Mellington, Jordan Wolff and Fintan Brazil all recommitting to the Saints over the last two weeks, a complete rebuild is thankfully not on the cards.
Jarrad Waite will have the opportunity to look at what went right for the Benalla club in the 2023 season and shape his play style around the positives.
The Saints vs opposition averages
Clearances:
Saints — 34.8
Opposition — 32.6
Hard-ball gets:
Saints — 32.1
Opposition — 30.4
Overall pressure:
Saints — 103
Opposition — 94.2
Kick percentage:
Saints — 58%
Opposition — 67%
Scoring:
Saints — 39%
Opposition — 57%
The Saints were impressive at the coalface this season.
While they finished bottom of the ladder, the side averaged 34.8 clearances a game.
Their opposition only managed 32.6 when face to face with the Saints.
Benalla was a step above its opposition when digging in, averaging 1.7 more hard-ball gets than its opponents.
You would have expected the bottom of the league side to have been a pushover, but that was far from the case.
The Saints averaged a total pressure score of 103, which was 8.8 more than their opposition.
Benalla could not be faulted in terms of statistics, which relate to the effort a side is exerting.
The Saints had the quantity but not necessarily the efficiency, as statistics relating to effectiveness were damming.
The difference between Benalla and its opponents in kick percentage was 9 per cent, and scoring efficiency was down by 18 per cent compared to its opponents.
Turning around these statistics will be a challenge for Waite, but as the new coach said in a previous interview with the Ensign, the players are chomping at the bit to do the hard yards.
“Whenever we’ve challenged the top sides, they’ve always wanted to do the hard work,” Waite said.
“So it’s not a case of ‘they don’t want to’.”
If the Saints keep working hard, it won’t be long until there is a turnaround on the field.
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