The gigantic 22.22 (154) to 9.4 (58) result, by far the most lopsided in the history of this senior competition, obviously brought with it a raft of impressive contributors.
To the naked eye, it felt like you could have thrown a blanket over any number of Murray Bombers lining up for recognition at the post-match presentation ceremony.
While Willoughby boys Sam and Cooper scooped the individual rewards between them as judged by media and umpires on the day, Premier Data’s records seek to reward another.
Kane reigns from above - big man’s day out
Score involvements: 15
Contested possessions: 14
Marks inside 50: 5
Goals: 3
Intercept possessions: 9
These numbers offer a glimpse of Kane Morris’ full-scale contributions, whether in front of, behind or right over the ball.
As mentioned, it wasn’t as if he had no contenders to the top spot; exactly half of Echuca’s 22 on the field ended up cracking the ton in a phenomenal afternoon for the green machine, while Adam De Cicco was Shepparton’s lone centurion in defeat.
One hundred and fifty-six ranking points typically gets the job done, though, and Morris was earning them in all circumstances.
The first four of those five stats are either outright or equal game-high numbers per Premier Data’s account, with Morris’ nine intercepts sitting only behind ever-reliable defender Logan Prout’s 13.
Opposing the typically dominant Ash Holland in the ruck, Morris wasn’t getting first look in the air, but proved significantly more influential around the ground than his Morrison Medal-winning adversary.
Often drifting forward immediately out of the middle, Morris proved by far the most potent marking threat around goals, and can be forgiven for a couple of relatively simple misses in the final term with the game long since iced.
That fourth term was where Morris truly shone to deliver the exclamation point that turned a strolling success into a record-breaking rout, producing a couple of goals and four of his five marks inside 50, in addition to half of his contested touches.
The cohesion of the three-time premiership-defending Murray Bombers meant that, in all truth, the game wasn’t there to be won for terribly long having produced 91 of the game’s first 97 points on the board.
However, Morris was a significant factor in the game being remembered in the historical context it will be as the Bears mounted a charge to salvage any hint of pride in a more competitive second half.
No mere king for a week, the big man’s display on the ultimate stage provides an outing that will remain in the memory all the way until late March, when it comes time for Echuca to back it up for a fourth straight season.
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