Echuca and Rochester step things up a notch when lining up against one another, with neither side wanting to concede an inch in a rivalry steeped in history and tradition.
No doubt they will bring their best on Saturday when they face off in round five of the Goulburn Valley League season, but how do they stack up against each other with four rounds completed?
Echuca wins more of the ball, gathering 318 disposals a game compared to Rochester’s 273.8, but the Tigers are able to extract it from contested situations with more regularity, averaging 133.8 contested possessions compared to the Murray Bombers’ 120.3.
Echuca v Rochester per game averages
Disposals: 318 v 273.8
Contested possessions: 120.3 v 133.8
Clearances: 37.5 v 39
Overall pressure: 134.8 v 156
Tackles: 52 v 63.8
Inside 50s: 48.3 v 51.3
Goals a game: 15.5 v 9.5
The clearance comparison is an intriguing one — while Rochester wins more clearances on average (39 to 37.5), Echuca gets first use at the centre bounce, winning 12 on average, while Rochester averages a touch more than eight.
Rochester is the second-best pressure side in the league, with an average pressure rating of 156, while Echuca’s rating sits at 134.8, and the tackle count also has Rochester ahead (63.8 to 52).
The Murray Bombers’ game style has them take the most uncontested marks across the league, averaging 92.5, staggeringly nearly 40 more than the 53.8 Rochester averages.
While the two sides average roughly the same number of inside 50s, with Rochester slightly ahead (51.3 to Echuca’s 48.3), there remains a massive gulf in their ability to convert entries into goals.
Echuca averages 15.5 goals a game, meaning it kicks a goal 32.1 per cent of the time it enters its attacking 50, while Rochester averages 9.5 goals a game for a conversion rate of 18.5 per cent an entry.
ˑ This weekend’s One FM broadcast game is Shepparton Swans versus Shepparton United on Saturday from 1.30pm.