It’s no wonder the Casey Scorpions sit on top of the Peter Jackson VFL ladder – they’ve monopolised possession of the ball in most of their games this season, as Wynstan Stats Central examines.
They were at it again in a 105-point win against Werribee in Round 19, racking up 508 disposals – 216 more than the Tigers – with 11 players recording more than 20 touches.
Casey averages 405 disposals per game in 2016 – over 37 more per game than the next best team, Sandringham. As soon as the likes of Alex Neal-Bullen, Ben Newton and Jack Trengove win the ball in close, their teammates fan out to receive the ball by hand.
Indeed, the Scorpions average over 36 more handballs per game than any other team, with VFL-listers James Munro and Ed Morris a couple of the team’s best exponents. They then feed designated kickers such as Jack Grimes and Viv Michie, who in turn drive the ball quickly into the VFL’s highest-scoring forward line.
The attractive change in aligned AFL club Melbourne’s style of play has filtered down to senior coach Justin Plapp’s group at Casey, with the Scorpions never afraid to flick the ball around by hand and move it forward at speed.
Ominously for opponents, Casey is also the competition’s no.1 tackling team, but they’ve been out-tackled in two of its three losses this year. Clearly, shutting down that manic ball movement with sustained pressure is the best recipe for shutting down the Scorpions.
Other key stats from Round 19:
47: Coburg’s Ahmed Saad looks to have the VFL’s ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal wrapped up. The ex-St Kilda forward has booted 47 goals, and with one match remaining for the Lions, he leads Williamstown’s Dylan Conway on the goalkicking table by 14 majors. Saad’s scoring consistency has been remarkable – he has kicked two or more goals in 13 of his 15 games and only gone goalless once when injured against Frankston in Round 5.
Round 19 stats leaders:
| KICKS |
|
|
|
| Jack Grimes |
Casey Scorpions |
26 |
|
| Viv Michie |
Casey Scorpions |
23 |
|
| Damian Mascitti |
Port Melbourne |
22 |
|
| Ozgur Uysal |
Coburg |
21 |
|
| Jackson Sketcher |
Frankston |
21 |
|
| Sam Crocker |
Port Melbourne |
21 |
|
| Matt Jones |
Casey Scorpions |
20 |
|
| Jay Kennedy-Harris |
Casey Scorpions |
20 |
|
| Mitch White |
Casey Scorpions |
20 |
|
| Michael Gibbons |
Williamstown |
19 |
|
| Josh Iacobaccio |
Coburg |
18 |
|
| Shaun McKernan |
Essendon |
18 |
|
| Adam Marcon |
Richmond |
18 |
|
| Shaun Edwards |
Essendon |
17 |
|
| Kane Lambert |
Richmond |
17 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| HANDBALLS |
|
|
|
| Matt Jones |
Casey Scorpions |
21 |
|
| Michael Gibbons |
Williamstown |
20 |
|
| Alex Neal-Bullen |
Casey Scorpions |
20 |
|
| Edward Morris |
Casey Scorpions |
19 |
|
| Kane Lambert |
Richmond |
18 |
|
| Liam Hunt |
Coburg |
18 |
|
| Nick Gray |
Collingwood |
18 |
|
| Jimmy Webster |
Sandringham |
18 |
|
| Ben Jolley |
Williamstown |
17 |
|
| Alex Woodward |
Box Hill Hawks |
17 |
|
| Jack Grimes |
Casey Scorpions |
16 |
|
| Thomas Gribble |
Werribee |
16 |
|
| James Munro |
Casey Scorpions |
16 |
|
| Jake Spencer |
Casey Scorpions |
16 |
|
| Willie Wheeler |
Williamstown |
15 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| MARKS |
|
|
|
| Mitch White |
Casey Scorpions |
12 |
|
| Shaun McKernan |
Essendon |
11 |
|
| Jack Grimes |
Casey Scorpions |
10 |
|
| Tom Stewart |
Geelong |
10 |
|
| Travis Cloke |
Collingwood |
10 |
|
| Will Sexton |
Geelong |
9 |
|
| Sam Dunell |
Williamstown |
9 |
|
| Jack Hutchins |
Casey Scorpions |
9 |
|
| Jordan Cunico |
Geelong |
9 |
|
| Kane Lambert |
Richmond |
8 |
|
| Ben Raidme |
Geelong |
8 |
|
| Brodie Murdoch |
Sandringham |
8 |
|
| Cameron Shenton |
Sandringham |
8 |
|
| Sam Crocker |
Port Melbourne |
8 |
|
| Jordan Lisle |
Port Melbourne |
8 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| HITOUTS |
|
|
|
| Jarrod Witts |
Collingwood |
59 |
|
| Nick Meese |
Williamstown |
46 |
|
| Ivan Maric |
Richmond |
38 |
|
| Jake Spencer |
Casey Scorpions |
37 |
|
| Braydon Preuss |
Werribee |
33 |
|
| Michael Sikora |
Frankston |
29 |
|
| Mark Kovacevic |
Coburg |
28 |
|
| Khan Haretuku |
Port Melbourne |
25 |
|
| Mark Jamar |
Essendon |
22 |
|
| Tom Goodwin |
Coburg |
21 |
|
| Marc Pittonet |
Box Hill Hawks |
20 |
|
| Ivan Soldo |
Richmond |
19 |
|
| Lewis Pierce |
Sandringham |
18 |
|
| Billy Longer |
Sandringham |
17 |
|
| Corey Gault |
Collingwood |
14 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| TACKLES |
|
|
|
| Shannen Lange |
Port Melbourne |
13 |
|
| Brent Macaffer |
Collingwood |
13 |
|
| Jordan Murdoch |
Geelong |
10 |
|
| Willie Wheeler |
Williamstown |
10 |
|
| Jack Sinclair |
Sandringham |
9 |
|
| Jacob Townsend |
Richmond |
9 |
|
| George Horlin-Smith |
Geelong |
9 |
|
| Kane Lambert |
Richmond |
8 |
|
| Adam Marcon |
Richmond |
8 |
|
| Gus Borthwick |
Collingwood |
8 |
|
| Matthew Smith |
Collingwood |
8 |
|
| Corey Wagner |
Werribee |
8 |
|
| Sam McLachlan |
Geelong |
8 |
|
| Matthew Goodyear |
Collingwood |
7 |
|
| Dylan Weickhardt |
Sandringham |
7 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| VFL LEADING GOALKICKERS |
|
|
| Seniors |
|
Goals |
Total |
| Ahmed Saad |
Coburg |
3 |
47 |
| Dylan Conway |
Williamstown |
1 |
33 |
| Ayce Cordy |
Williamstown |
4 |
32 |
| Cameron Shenton |
Sandringham |
4 |
30 |
| Sam Dunell |
Williamstown |
3 |
27 |
| Liam McBean |
Richmond |
1 |
25 |
| Liam Hulett |
Casey Scorpions |
DNP |
24 |
| Timothy Smith |
Casey Scorpions |
DNP |
24 |
| Kristian Jaksch |
Northern Blues |
BYE |
24 |
| Daniel Younan |
Coburg |
2 |
23 |
| |
|
|
|
| Development League |
|
|
|
| Hudson Thomas |
Frankston |
3 |
24 |
| Billy Hogan |
Port Melbourne |
** |
22 |
| Jake Summers |
Box Hill Hawks |
5 |
22 |
| Thomas Baker |
Casey Scorpions |
** |
20 |
| Lachlan Langford |
Box Hill Hawks |
1 |
20 |
| Julian Dobosz |
Sandringham |
2 |
19 |
| Mitchell Vandenberg |
Werribee |
2 |
19 |
| Jake Kalanj |
Coburg |
** |
18 |
| Nicholas Ebinger |
Williamstown |
4 |
17 |
| Luke Hannon |
Casey Scorpions |
1 |
16 |
Related content:
Stats Central Rd 18: Tale of Dogs and Hawks
The VFL stats that matter
Stats Central Rd 17: Dolphins swim forward
Stats Central Rd 16: Tiger toughness
Stats Central Rd 15: Cats clean things up
Last Modified on 16/08/2016 22:37
