Torquay loses the marks inside 50 count for the first time this season
A Bellarine challenger has managed to knock off the reigning premier in a statistical area it has dominated all season and never lost, until now.
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Marks inside 50, clearance and scores from stoppage.
They’re an aspect of any football team’s game plan in some shape or form and for the BFNL’s reigning premiers, they’re areas where they’ve barely lost in 2024.
However, for the first time all BFNL season, Torquay conceded the marks inside 50 count (10-16) as Geelong Amateur won a Round 13 thriller by a point at McCartney Oval.
Up the other end, Ammos forwards Tom Gorrell, Max Hungerford and Patrick Dowling combined for 10 in total despite the Tigers having 11 more inside 50s.
Incredibly, Dom Gleeson’s men have taken 120 more marks inside 50 than their opposition in games this season.
On Saturday, the Ammos defence also managed to keep Torquay’s most potent scorers in Jesse Dawson, Will Tamassy, Matt Boag and Nathan Mifsud to just six goals between them.
Dawson, Tamassy, Boag and Mifsud have combined for 72 majors as the Tigers remain the Bellarine’s most prolific scorers – even without Lucas Anderson – by 124 points from its nearest rival in Barwon Heads.
Ammos coach Dan Holroyd said marks inside 50 was definitely a stat his defensive department took note of, but it was only one piece of the overall puzzle.
The Tigers earned twice as many marks inside 50 last time they met in Round 4.
“It’s a funny stat though, I think Modewarre had two inside 50 marks against us and beat us not long ago, you can overanalyse,” Holroyd said.
“I’d say our backs stack up pretty well, we would probably win that stat more weeks I would have thought.
“We’ve been trying a couple of different things with (the forwards) ... the way they work together lately.
“Jai Sheahan, he probably didn’t take as many marks inside 50 but got a few free kicks just because we were able to generate deep entries and get our guys in one on ones and put the Torquay defenders under pressure.”
In addition, for just the second time this year on Saturday, the Tigers lost the scores from stoppage battle on Saturday, with the Ammos winning the count 50-28.
Barwon Heads in Round 9 are the only other team to have pipped Torquay in this area in 2024.
Meanwhile, Torquay lost the clearance battle for just the fourth time this year after narrow losses to Barwon Heads, Anglesea and Ocean Grove.
However, it hasn’t been an aspect of Torquay’s game which has seen lopsided differentials.
On Saturday, gun recruit Blake Sutterby feasted on a round-high 16 clearances and eight ball up clearances, plus 19 contested possessions and seven pressure acts.
The Ammos won the ledger despite a dominant 36-possession (22 contested), 14-clearance game from Matt Boag, plus 18 contested touches and 15 groundball gets from Chase Loftus, the club’s reigning best and fairest winner.
“We were really happy with our midfield unit, just how they worked together,” Holroyd said.
“(The rucks) gave our mids every opportunity.
“We feel like we’re starting to get the right balance in there.”
He thought star acquisition Tom Gribble was close to season-best form, too.
“Tom’s just really good at identifying what needs to be done and doing it, there’s no ego, he brings other players into the game but pops up in key moments as well,” he said.
“I don’t want to put too much praise on one person, we’re just really happy with the whole group’s output, particularly the midfield.
“I said (post-match) let’s not drink our own bathwater too much, enjoy it but now we’ve got to shift our focus to Barwon Heads and keep going.”
New recruit Oscar Brownless also applied nine tackles — a league-high for the round.
“He’s just competitive, he’s just smart, he’s good when he gets the ball and likes the defensive side of the game as well,” Holroyd said.
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