GVL Data | Echuca and Euroa to clash in Anzac thriller

By Alexander Dabb

Apr 25, 2024

Up and about: Echuca will go head-to-head with Euroa at Memorial Oval on Saturday, but which side will remain undefeated when the final siren sounds? Photo: Aidan Briggs

Echuca and Euroa face off in a Goulburn Valley League Anzac Round thriller at Euroa’s Memorial Oval on Saturday, with the two sides set to battle it out to remain undefeated in 2024.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The two sides have enjoyed a close rivalry of sorts in recent times, although the Murray Bombers have managed to win in each of their meetings across the past two years, including famously clinching the 2022 premiership despite the Magpies surging into the lead late in the last quarter.

After fielding a team that totalled just 24 player points last week against Mooroopna, Echuca will head into the Euroa clash without a full-strength side, according to coach Simon Maddox, who is expecting a tough contest.

“We’ll be a little bit undermanned, as we were last week, but we’ve got good guys in reserves knocking on the door and we’ll go over there hoping to get the job done,” Maddox said.

“Mooroopna played pretty well last week, to their credit, and Euroa’s hard to get over in the last two or three years, particularly out there.

“They’ll be hungry on their home deck, so we’re expecting a red-hot battle; every time we’ve played there the last three or four years has been a ripping game of football.

“They’re even across the board, but we’ll worry about our own backyard. If we get that right, the opposition will have trouble curtailing us.

“I’ll be happy just to walk away with the four points if we can.”

With both teams undefeated so far, how do they stack up in the early stages of this season?

Euroa leads the way competition-wide for disposals, averaging 365 per game, ahead of Echuca, who ranks fifth with an average of 319.3 per outing.

The Magpies also win the most contested ball of any side (151 per game), with Echuca only ninth in the competition (127.3 per game), although the Murray Bombers rank third in clearances with 17.3 per contest, with Euroa ranking fifth (15.3 per game).

Echuca tends to find more uncontested marks, averaging 88 per game, as opposed to Euroa which only claims 73.7, while the reigning premier has been able to also find targets inside 50 with much more regularity (19.3 to 9 per game).

There is also a strong disparity in the ability to hit the scoreboard — after round three, Echuca averages 17 goals per game, whereas Euroa only manages nine per game.

The game changers

Both sides are stocked with high level talent, but which individuals have set themselves apart so far?

Gus Byrne has averaged 120 ranking points so far this season for the Murray Bombers, with the former Geelong VFL skipper a constant threat inside the attacking arc.

A tidy four goals per game through three rounds has the forward sitting second in the league for goals kicked, while he has shown to be a force around the contest, winning 11.7 contested possessions per game, while clunking three contested marks per outing and taking six grabs inside 50.

For Euroa, former AFL Bulldog and Blue Will Hayes looms as a potential game-changer, with the gun on-baller set for just his second match in the black and white this season.

Hayes set the tone in his first outing for the season against Kyabram last week, winning 31 touches and 10 contested possessions, while putting the ball inside 50 nine times for the Magpies.