Trust the process: Wade King and his Benalla side are slowly but surely getting better with time.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Only one side in the Goulburn Valley League is yet to taste victory following the weekend’s proceedings.
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Benalla has been given the short end of the stick in five out of its six outings, with its lonely two points coming in a 60-all draw against Shepparton United in round three.
However, while the ladder may not show it, the Saints are improving.
Benalla failed to kick more than five goals in the opening two matches but has gone on to better its forward output in three of the four matches to follow.
The Saints’ kicking has vastly improved, and their recent respective 11.6 and 13.7 efforts against Euroa and Seymour have shown that.
So, where does Benalla particularly excel when stacked up against the rest of the GVL?
Benalla leads the charge in the one-percenter department, with no other side touching the Saints’ 53.8 acts per game.
Benalla’s 2024 averages
One percenters: 53.8 (first)
Centre clearances: 13.8 (second)
Total disposal efficiency: 70 per cent (eighth)
Tackles: 53.4 (10th)
Inside 50s: 34.3 (12th)
It’s a promising sign for Waite’s charges, given eventual 2023 premiership side Echuca led the way in that category last season with an average of 42.1.
The Saints sit second in the league for centre clearance averages (13.8) behind Shepparton Swans, largely due to the hulking ruck work of new man Mark Marriott.
Benalla holds its own in the middle of the park, but the area that needs fixing up — and fast — is its ‘money kick’.
Currently the Saints have registered just 172 inside 50 efforts across six games — a shade under half of stats leader Mansfield with 342.
Given, the Eagles have played one game more, but Benalla’s 34.4 average is significantly lower than Seymour’s 45.2 — and the Lions are only two places above them on the table.
And if it wasn’t obvious by now, goals are in short supply.
Benalla sits alongside Euroa as the only two clubs in the GVL not to boast a player with 10 or more goals so far this season, with Marriott’s tally of eight majors (28th in the comp) the best of any player in black, red and white.
Waite himself was the focal point of Benalla’s forward line last year, kicking 27 goals, but as he takes on more coaching responsibility and features less and less (three goals from four games), it makes the Saints’ plan of attack increasingly difficult.
Although, if Benalla can draw on a more even contribution and keep supplementing its rising scoreboard pressure, who knows what could happen as time goes by.
