The undefeated and unabated Bears just keep marching on, and a key reason is that any one of several contributors can stand above the rest on a given weekend.
This week’s king of the competition was on-baller Adam Decicco, who monstered the Saints’ midfield at will and arrived first to seemingly every ball across the afternoon, racking up an eye-popping outing.
Decicco sets them down: the numbers
Disposals: 41 (83% efficiency)
Contested possessions: 20
Total ground-ball gets: 17
Pressure acts: 14
Clearances: 10
Ranking points: 184
Decicco led all comers — in most cases, quite comfortably — in all but one of these key categories; Benalla’s Christopher Welsh pipped him to the post with 11 clearances.
Nonetheless, Decicco’s impact was nothing short of devastating, contributing in a handful of midfield categories that, it must be said, the Bears didn’t win by landslides.
Shepparton only registered an advantage of six in the contested ball count (132-126), highlighting Decicco’s efforts all the more.
The Saints, to their credit, have remained competitive in stoppage-related numbers despite their dismal results, but the Bears’ midfield has elevated dramatically this year.
Decicco sits within the league’s top 10 in a raft of categories, sitting second for inside-50s (7.3 per game) and third for total ground-ball gets (9.8 per game) after nearly doubling everyone else’s tally at Deakin Reserve in the latter metric.
His work off the ball shone through as well however, as evidenced by a whopping game-high 14 pressure acts in defence.
Only Benalla’s James Martiniello registered more total team involvements than Decicco on the day, primarily driven by 12 tackles.
Decicco’s efforts when not in possession were rewarded more often than not, racking up six intercepts across the afternoon as well — second again only to Martiniello as well as fellow Bear Joel Brett.
Decicco would have been a significant one to watch if available for this weekend’s interleague carnival against the Ovens and Murray Football League, but Bryce Stephenson and the aforementioned Brett will fly the flag for the competition’s last unbeaten outfit.
With 184 ranking points on a dominant Saturday afternoon, Decicco more than earned player of the week honours in a high-flying side that often produces multiple contenders at a time.
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