GVL Data | Who dares wins between Mooroopna and Mansfield as sides square off for the first time in nearly a year

The last time wasn’t exactly a barn burner on the field, but Mooroopna coach John Lamont still found a way to wheel out one of his famous one-liners in the wake of the 7.7 (49) to 5.9 (39) win.

“There was an element of, as Paul Keating said years ago, the win (recession) that we needed to have,” he said following the game.

Following Saturday’s clash, will Lamont have the chance to use another of Keating’s classics?

Will the Cats flog Mansfield like a wet lettuce or instead be like a shiver waiting for a spine?

Let’s dive into the stats and find out.

Starting with the visitors, Mansfield’s best performer on paper this season has been Harry Mahoney.

He averages 28.9 disposals, 10 contested possessions and 5.1 inside 50s and chimed in with 39 touches and three goals against Tatura in the previous round.

However, Mahoney splits his time with Collingwood’s VFL outfit.

The Pies play on Friday and, unless the high-flying Eagle fancies punching in a double shift, it’s unlikely Mansfield will have the young gun’s services at the Cattery.

Another Mahoney — of the Brett flavour — has been Mansfield’s second-best with 27.7 disposals, 4.8 tackles and 5.2 clearances a game.

But the midfield bull hasn’t featured since round 13, with injury likely hampering the Eagles’ number 14 from being able to make his usual ground-shaking influence.

This means Mansfield will have to rely on the talents of youngsters like Billy Hogan (36 goals) and Tom Dunstan (100.8 ranking points a game) against Mooroopna.

Now to the Cats.

The big whisper reverberating around the Cattery is the likely return of key forward Daniel Johnston after serving his three-match suspension for striking.

“DJ” has had the Mooroopna crowd singing to his tune this season, boasting the best goals-per-game ratio with 4.6 while also sitting inside the league’s top 10 for per-game contested marks with 2.5.

While Johnston has stolen headlines on many fronts, some of the more unassuming Cats have toiled away and also deserve plaudits.

Kai Madgwick is averaging 24.8 disposals with a respectable 3.2 inside 50s and 2.6 goal involvements a game.

He brought up his 100th senior Mooroopna appearance this season, the second to do so in 2024 behind Jack Lear, while Bayden Fallon will become the third to raise the bat this weekend against Mansfield.

Realistically, the Cats’ finals holding is safe while anything other than a win for Mansfield equals tools down in September.

There’s plenty on the line; now, all that’s left to do is sit back and see if it lives up to the billing.