The quality of their tackle.
While The News is yet to delve into fishing statistics, thanks to GVL Data the ability to take a deep dive into the Goulburn Valley League’s best tacklers is now at our fingertips.
After eleven rounds of data a number of consistent performers have stood out, with Mooroopna’s Matt Deane averaging 8.3 tackles a game for his six games played, while Shepparton United’s Adam Pigatto sits at 7.4 for his eleven.
In terms of totals so far this campaign, Pigatto leads the way on 81, while Seymour’s Ben Rigoni (67) and Tatura’s Mitchell Elliott (61) are not far behind.
When looking at team averages, Shepparton United is in front with 64.9 a game in the first 11 games of the season, while the Shepparton Bears put on a season-high 83 tackles in their round six clash against Echuca.
While tackle numbers are impressive, they often link with a lack of possession, with teams chasing the game less likely to have the ball in hand and more likely to be caught cuddling an opponent.
In the Bears’ round six game for example, they had 52 less disposals than their opponents, with the 156-point result in favour of Echuca proving that a team up against it with less of the ball is more likely to tackle.
However this rule is not always the case and at the end of the day the amount of tackles is not always about who has the most ball, but who is working hard in and around the contest on any given week.
Leaderboard
Tackles per team (average after first 11 games)
Shepparton United - 64.9
Mansfield - 64.8
Shepparton Swans - 62.1
Mooroopna - 60.6
Shepparton - 59.6
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