GVL Data Fantasy | Journos have heads in the clouds

Botched metaphors aside, the various sports-minded journalists of McPherson Media Group have been busy delving deep into the vast array of GVL Data statistics on offer this Goulburn Valley League season.

The latest content they have come up with is GVL Data Fantasy.

Each journalist — or editor — will represent a masthead in the group over the final fortnight of the regular season, playing for honour, glory and the first round of post-season soft drinks at the Moama Bowling Club.

The Riv will be represented by sports reporters Josh Huntly and Bransen Gibson, but also part of the tri-weekly’s stable will be editor Gregor Mactaggart — who will be carrying the baton for the Campaspe Valley News due to his strong family connections to Rochester — and Kyabram Free Press editor Rohan Aldous.

The quartet has compiled teams of 10 — following a GVL 9s format with one emergency — to bring the metaphorical trophy home to rest in The Riv offices.

Players compile Data Points out on the GVL field through various statistics, including kicks, marks, tackles, free kicks, hit-outs and scoring shots, and the overall highest Fantasy squad over the two rounds will be declared the winner and be showered with praise and plaudits.

To check out the combatants for the Shepparton News, head to the GVL Data tab on your preferred MMG masthead website.

Here’s a look at The Riv representatives’ teams and what each challenger had to say about their sides.

“A mix of elite ball skills, aerial dominance, and hard-at-it football typifies the calibre of GVL players in my side,” Huntly said.

“Andrew Walker, Chris Jansen, and Shaun Atley form a lethal midfield trio with plenty of top-flight experience, while the contested possession game of Will Martiniello will surely see him tally up the GVL Data points.

“Billy Cooper and BJ Squire can always be relied upon to collect plenty of football no matter the result, and Chris Nield’s sheer weight of goals and ability to swing a game was an attractive prospect.

“Kaine Herbert’s recent purple patch sees him earn a spot as emergency and with a team like this, it will be hard to go past Huntly’s Heroes for early honours in GVL Fantasy.”

“With Echuca and Rochester both sitting in the top six this season, there is a strong local flavour to my side,” Gibson said.

“Echuca has been the league’s top side in 2022, and a number of Murray Bombers are flying into my team. Andrew Walker is a key piece of the Echuca midfield, and I’m sure he will be a strong contributor in my fantasy team too. Ruory Kirby is second in the league in both goals and marks, and he will be the spearhead in my forward line. Their bottle green teammates Riley Smith and Sam Willoughby are both averaging more than 20 touches a game, and the pair round out the Echuca flavour to my side.

“Just down the road, Hugh Hamilton has been impressive in his five games for Rochester. Coming off the back of a seven-goal outing against United, he gets a spot in my side alongside fellow Tigers teammates Shaun Atley and Christopher Jansen, who are both averaging 30 disposals a game this season. Daniel Russell has been one of the top ruckmen in the league this season, and with the fifth most hit-outs in the GVL, he too gets a spot.

“Only two players from afar have made it into my top 10. Jack Murphy is the league’s leading disposal getter, and with Seymour hunting for a finals spot, I think he will have a huge couple of games to end the season. And as a North Melbourne fan, I couldn’t have just one former Kangaroo in my team. Atley and Jarrad Waite spent four years together in the blue-and-white, and they will be teammates once again in my side to end the season. Waite has kicked at least three goals in each of his games for Benalla since returning to the Saints, and I’m sure he will snag a handful of goals in each of his remaining games.”

“Talk about a top 10, this outfit is class personified,” Mactaggart said.

“Not only that, I’ve got the winning recipe.

“The AFL pedigree of Andrew Walker, Shaun Atley, Sam Reid and Michael Hartley, who combined for 593 games at the elite level.

“Combine that with the offensive threat of the Moulamein Marvel Steven Stroobants and Cats ace Chris Nield.

“A splash of aerial dominance from Lachie Smith, my favourite Goulburn Valley League footballer from his days at Benalla and now at Kyabram.

“Then the final ingredient, an engine room the envy of my rivals consisting of ball magnets Chris Jansen, BJ Squire and Jack McHale.

“Just send the trophy straight to the Riverine Herald office.”

“Lachlan Smith takes a lot of marks and now that he has moved forward has the chance to convert those into goals. Prefers to kick the ball, so extra points there as well. Is a regular exponent of the double-double, being 20 plus possessions and 10 plus marks,” Aldous said.

"Tackles count for a lot, so a player like Ben Rigoni that is ranked second in the competition in that category and also averages 25 touches is important. The Lions also have two of the bottom teams in the final two rounds, so he may even sneak forward for a goal or two.

“Jack Murphy gets a heap of it, in fact, more than anyone and can kick goals from the midfield. Doesn’t give away many free kicks and kicks it more than he disposes of it by hand. Has scored 140 plus points a handful of times this season.

"BJ Squire’s a member of the 400 disposal club who is a strong tackler, takes enough marks to count and kicks more than he handballs. Against fifth and sixth ranked Rochester and Kyabram he will be a 120 plus point scorer.

"When Chris Jansen goes, he goes hard. Capable of kicking a handful of goals from the midfield and one of the few players capable of racking up 40 possessions in a single afternoon. Capable of putting together a 150-point game.

"Without Will Martinello in the team, Chris Welsh will be the chief ball winner, in fact, he will probably end up leading the league in this category. He gets into defence a lot, which is where the ball spends a lot of time for Benalla.

"If (Tom) Downie isn’t playing then Zach Norris is my man. He does great work at ground level, gets enough of the ball and despite not taking enough marks I reckon he could put together a big game against Shepparton Swans and will be keen to do well against Tom McDonagh. If Downie is in, he is out, however.

“I’ve got a feeling a lot of ball will be coming Ruory Kirkby’s way in the final two rounds, in the hope of him being able to catch leading goalkicker Christopher Nield. A big marking player who with half a dozen goals and a dozen marks can put together a 120-point game without too much sweat.

"I love goal-kicking midfielders and Zach Banch, along with Jansen and Murphy, is among the league’s best. Had his biggest Data Points score (147) against Euroa only a couple of weeks ago and rarely dips below 100. His speed will worry Kyabram and he could be in for a big one.

"My 10th player is Tom Downie, and he comes straight into the nine if he is playing. He has scored at will, Data Points-wise, in his three games. Gets a heap of the ball, takes marks and backs it up with a big hit-out count.“