Shepparton Bears’ Adam De Cicco leads the GVL in a swathe of categories, including disposals, contested possessions, marks inside 50s, and ranking points. Photo: Bruce Povey
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Bruce Povey
It is set to be a blockbuster Goulburn Valley League clash at Victoria Park this Saturday as two-time reigning premiers Echuca takes on the undefeated Shepparton Bears.
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The midfield contest is set to be key to either side’s chances, and both the Bears and the Murray Bombers have top-class on-ballers to call on to swing things in their favour.
For Shepparton, Adam De Cicco has been dominating in key statistical areas and will be crucial to the Bears chances, while for Echuca, 2023 best-and-fairest Sam Reid will be a pivotal piece in the Murray Bombers’ game plan.
Let’s look at how the two midfielders might match up, based on their performances this season.
After playing in both of Echuca’s round-one fixtures, Reid has been sidelined for the majority of the season, only returning to the Murray Bombers squad in round eight.
When he has played, Reid has demonstrated the form that helped Echuca to the title.
The Murray Bombers on-baller averages 20.2 disposals, at a 70 per cent clip, 11.8 contested possessions, 5 clearances, 2.2 inside 50s, 3.8 tackles and nine score involvements per contest.
However, if we just look at his round eight and nine outings, since he returned from injury, Reid has improved on his early season numbers in most areas, averaging 25 disposals, 13.5 contested possessions, three inside 50s and a massive 11 score involvements in those two games.
Sam Reid has been putting up impressive numbers for the Murray Bombers since his return from injury. Photo: File
Reid has also improved his ranking point average (103.8) over the last two weeks, accumulating 121 ranking points per contest since returning.
For the Shepparton Bears, De Cicco has been the premier midfielder in the GVL this year, and his place atop several charts is testament to that fact.
De Cicco has more disposals (293) contested possessions (135), ground ball gets (99), inside 50s (59) and ranking points (1391) than any other player in the league this year, while he is tied for the most marks (73) with Shepparton United’s Edward Adams.
In per-game terms, De Cicco’s 154.6 ranking points per game come courtesy of 32.6 disposals, 15 contested possessions, 7.8 clearances, 6.6 inside 50s and 8.3 score involvements.
However, so much ball does come with a downside as De Cicco has also coughed up the equal most turnovers (55) of any player this season, more than six per game.
So how do Reid and De Cicco compare as key on-ballers for their sides?
Both players are key pivot points for their teams, getting their hands on the ball in the middle and distributing it effectively.
Where the pair differ is in their offensive versus defensive impact.
Reid has a willingness to expedition forward, averaging 1.5 goals a game, up to two in the last two, and marking inside 50 2.2 times per contest, three since his return.
On the other hand, De Cicco very rarely gets inside 50 himself, marking there only 0.3 times per game, but gets more work done on the defensive end.
The Bears star averages 7.8 tackles and 4.6 intercept possessions per contest, far ahead of Reid’s 3.8 and 2, respectively, in those categories.
All this means that you’re more often going to see Reid near his attacking 50 and De Cicco lurking on the defensive side of the ball, likely putting the pair in a direct contest at the weekend.
It’s a mouth-watering match-up, and the player that comes out on top may decide which side claims its biggest win of the season.
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