THE Riverine Herald takes an early season look at how the region’s AFL stars are travelling in 2019.
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(STATISTICS CORRECT TO THE END OF ROUND EIGHT IN THE AFL)
OLLIE WINES, Echuca
Career games: 134. Career goals: 60.
2019 games: 5. 2019 goals: 4.
Disposals: 128 (av. 25.6), 55 contested (av. 11).
Key stat: 31 clearances (av. 6.2).
A pre-season shoulder injury for Wines limited his early season, with the new co-captain of the club missing the opening rounds of the season.
On the surface his numbers are down, but only marginally.
We are still seeing the typical style of football from Wines, fighting hard and earning the footy for his club.
Tackles and efficiency with the football are down, but we expect it to some extent following his interrupted start to the season.
What we do know is that Wines is as professional as they come in terms of his preparation, even minor areas requiring improvement will be driving him nuts, so you can expect he will be working harder than anyone to get better in the next few weeks.
CLAYTON OLIVER, Echuca
Career games: 68. Career goals: 22.
2019 games: 8. 2019 goals: 0.
Disposals: 257 (av. 32.1), 136 contested (av. 17).
Key stat: 36 score involvements (av. 4.5).
It’s not the season the Demons were expecting.
But Oliver is having a strong season none the less.
His numbers compare strongly to his All Australian form in 2018, but it’s hard to avoid the fact his team has not really come to the party for him.
As a result a Brownlow fancy coming into this season is not getting the attention he deserves, so hopefully Melbourne will produce as the season goes on.
SAM REID, Echuca
Career games: 72. Career goals: 28.
2019 games: 8. 2019 goals: 2.
Disposals: 126 (av. 15.75), 49 contested (av. 6.1).
Key stat: 43 intercept possessions (av. 5.4).
After being in and out of the system for much of his 10 year career, it’s exciting to see Reid finally get a proper go of things in the past two or three seasons.
Reid hasn’t missed a game for the Giants so far this season, being a regular contributor to a once again strong GWS team.
Reid’s intercept numbers are fantastic, providing a strong addition to a team where defence has been arguably its weakness.
Reid doesn’t stand out in a team of big name players, he’s not drawing the attention in the back line of a Phil Davis, but his impact is none the less key to the side.
MARTY HORE, Leitchville
Career games: 6. Career goals: 1.
2019 games: 6. Career goals: 1.
Disposals: 110 (av. 18.3), 38 contested (av. 6.3).
Key stat: 51 intercept possessions (av. 8.5).
It was a long journey for Hore to finally get a shot at the big time and there was no chance he was going to blow it.
In an underperforming Demons side, Hore has been a shining light.
With 51 intercept possessions, Hore is third at the Demons (behind experienced hands Sam Frost and Christian Salem) and 31st in the competition.
This is a huge stat for a side who have had problems keeping the ball at stages, Hore has been key in getting the footy back inside defensive 50.
At no stage has Hore looked out of depth in his debut season, further supporting the idea that more clubs should look back to the VFL for the incredible talent desperate for an opportunity.
LACHIE SCHULTZ, Moama
Career games: 3. Career goals: 2.
2019 games: 3. 2019 goals: 2.
Disposals: 38 (av. 12.6), 13 contested (av. 4.3).
Key stat: 13 score involvements (av. 4.3).
Schultz has been starved of game time so far this season, with a returning Brandon Matera taking his place in the side.
It’s unfortunate, but his round one performance showed there was a lot to like about the Moama youngster.
His debut match — a huge win against North Melbourne — saw the young Docker make the best of his opportunity at AFL level with two goals and had 17 touches.
As the stats show, when Schultz gets involved with footy in hand, it usually leads to a Fremantle score, so he definitely adds something to Lyon’s side.
It’s unclear how many games he will get as the year goes on, but he has shown a lot of promise and could end up a regular fixture in the side.
AIDYN JOHNSON, Moama
Career games: 11. Career goals: 8.
2019 games: 1. Career goals:0.
Disposals: 12 (av. 12), 8 (av. 8).
Key stat: 8 contested possessions.
This is Johnson’s third year at AFL level, so this is going to be an important one in terms of proving he belongs in the system.
It took him eight rounds to get into the side and he was serviceable in the Showdown, which will likely see him play a few more games as the season goes on.
A key thing to take away from his appearance is getting eight contested possessions.
Any time a player is getting two thirds of his touches under pressure, clubs will notice.
We hope to see this attack on the football continue as the year goes on.
FLYNN APPLEBY, Cohuna
Career games: 8. Career goals: 0.
2019 games: 0. 2019 goals: 0.
In a Collingwood side who simply couldn’t catch a break with injuries in 2018 gave Appleby a chance to show his talents off.
And the young Cohuna rookie didn’t disappoint.
Hasn’t cracked a game so far this season and has been limited in the VFL with a bad ankle, but has shown enough since his arrival to possibly get some chances as the year goes on.
Sports journalist