📊 Statistically Speaking: Round 14

In our weekly column, Statistically Speaking, we scoured the Champion Data stats to review Round 14 by the numbers.

STAR PERFORMER

Aspley midfielder James Ives is having an outstanding season since taking over the co-captaincy this year. The 25-year-old rover had another excellent match on Saturday, guiding his side to a 26-point victory in wet conditions at Fankhauser Reserve. Ives collected 27 disposals, 13 of which were contested, four clearances, eight tackles and three goals – two from stoppages - in a best-on-ground effort. Ives is ranked second in the competition for scores from stoppages, and he’s amongst elite company in AFL-listed players Corey Lyons (ranked No.1), Ryan Bastinac (No.3) and James Rowbottom (No.4).

RANKINGS RULER

Gold Coast SUNS midfielder Aaron Young found himself at the top of the rankings chart this week despite not finishing the match with a suspected knee injury. Young was on fire against Redland at Metricon Stadium, racking up 27 disposals (15 contested), 10 marks, three clearances, 10 inside 50s and three goals before he got injured in the last quarter. Young’s performance totalled 183 Champion Data ranking points.

ROOKIE WATCH

Second-year Sydney draftee Ryley Stoddart produced one of his best NEAFL performances in Darwin on Saturday night. Rock solid in defence, the 19-year-old had 28 disposals at an outstanding 90% efficiency, plus eight marks and eight rebound 50s, totalling 151 Champion Data ranking points. He’ll be knocking on the door of AFL selection if he keeps this up.

SPENCER EQUALS RECORD

Aspley ruckman Jake Spencer is a man possessed at the moment, lifting in stature every week after a slow start to the season. Against Southport on Saturday, Spencer equalled the NEAFL record for most hit-outs in a game with 82. He joins former GIANTS ruckman Andrew Phillips as equal leader of the stat, after his big day out against Aspley in 2015. Interestingly, Spencer’s opponent Jed Turner amassed 59 hit-outs, which falls just outside the top 10 leaderboard for this statistical category.

TACKLE COUNT SOARS

Last week we saw 215 tackles laid between Sydney University and GIANTS, and this week Southport and Aspley took things up a notch. In a wet weather slogfest from start to finish, a total of 268 tackles were made, with Southport winning the count 145-123. Amazingly, eight players had 10 tackles or more. Southport’s Dylan Fyfe, Timakoi Bowie (12 each), Lee Dale, Charlie Ford, Ethan Reeves (11 each) and Jack Mentha (10) were working hard around the ground. The honour went to Aspley’s Jono Giles, though, who laid 16 tackles on his own, with teammate Lonnie Hampton having 12 tackles. Giles now holds the record for most tackles by an individual this season.

STEIN JUST SHY OF RECORD

GIANTS defender Jake Stein had a big day in defence against ladder leaders Brisbane on Sunday. Stein was one of his side’s best performers, ending up with 15 rebound 50s. He was just one rebound shy of the all-time NEAFL record, which is shared by two former Sydney players – Nic Newman (2015 v GIANTS) and Campbell Heath (2012 v Brisbane) – who both had 16 rebound 50s each.

SOUTHPORT’S DIRTY DAY

It wasn’t the brightest moment for defending premier Southport on Saturday as the Sharks struggled to score. Their final score of 4.6 (30) was the club’s third lowest NEAFL score ever, coming within five points of their lowest score of 4.1 (25) against Brisbane in 2017.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

Canberra and Sydney University fought out one of the best games in recent seasons at Phillip Oval, but couldn’t be separated as the contest ended in a 103-103 draw. It was actually the first draw both clubs have experienced in the NEAFL. They’ve come close, though. Canberra has experienced six games by six points or less (with a win-loss record of 5-1) and Sydney University eight (with a win-loss record of 3-5).

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