Sixty marks in the past month of football have put the best aerialist in the Goulburn Valley League well and truly back on the radar of opposition clubs.
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After a slow start to 2023, reigning Kyabram best-and-fairest Lachie Smith is now among a dozen players I have earmarked on a second half of the season “watchlist’’.
He is number three on the list after dominant displays against second-ranked Seymour, bottom team Shepparton United and 10th-placed Shepparton.
Last year, Smith took more intercept marks than any other player in the competition and was second overall (to Echuca’s premiership goal-kicker Ruory Kirkby) in contested and overall marking categories.
This year he has retained his crown as the top intercept marker (averaging 5.43 a game) in the competition and is in the top three for both his weekly contested (3.57) and overall marking (10.57) exploits.
After leaving the ground in the first quarter of the opening match against Rochester, where an eye injury impacted his early match tally of five marks, he was well down on his 2022 averages in the opening six rounds.
He took only four marks against Euroa in round six and was not credited with a single intercept mark.
Ten intercept marks against Seymour the following week (among a season-high 19), another 11 against United (18 in total) and five against the Shepparton Swans have clubs again kicking the ball in the opposite direction.
Smith hasn’t been called on this year to complete his “swingman’’ duties. Having kicked 28 goals in the last six weeks of last season, hhe kicked only two in the opening 13 games of 2022.
Number one on the watchlist is Euroa midfield dynamo Will Hayes (simply to see if he can keep up the pace), who is averaging 35.5 disposals (number one in the GVL) and will no doubt gain more definitive attention from opposition clubs between rounds 11 and 18.
He is third in the competition for inside-50 entries, fourth for ground ball gets and has twice registered a season-high 42 disposals. Hayes also has 10 goals to his credit and is averaging 5.88 tackles (12th in the league).
Sam Reid, another former AFL-listed player, is number two on my list. A 28-disposal/three-goal game showed how he can impact a game in both an attacking and defensive manner.
He laid 11 tackles in the same match (averaging eight a game, second in the GVL), took three inside-50 marks and had six clearances.
Reid injured his knee in the opening round of last season’s match with Rochester, but returned in round 14 with a four-goal game. He ended up being a part of the Echuca premiership, but has started 2023 in exceptional fashion.
He had a season-high 17 tackles against Mooroopna, an extraordinary “triple double’’ of 15 clearances, 10 tackles and 33 disposals in the team’s Shepparton win, and kicked six goals against Shepparton United (18 for the season).
Reid is a top-10 clearance player, has laid the third most inside-50 tackles in the GVL and is eighth for goal assists.
Following Smith at number four is a third former AFL player, Rochester’s Joe Atley, arguably the most combative player in the league and top three for both hard ball gets and contested possessions.
Atley has had more than 25 disposals in every game this season and has season highs of 18 clearances (fourth in league), 10 inside-50s (ranked 20th in the GVL), 22 contested disposals and eight tackles.
Atley only played four games in the GVL last season, working in tandem with older brother Shaun, who is now living in Sweden.
Kyabram ruckman Zac Norris may well be the competition’s most improved player and is my watchlist number five, having increased his 2022 disposal and contested possession count by 25 per cent.
Norris’ biggest game was a 28-disposal/12-clearance game where he racked up 157 ranking points.
Norris is the top GVL player for gathers, fourth for contested possessions, second for clearances and remains a top-10 hit-out ruckman.
Cameron Arnold kicked 49 goals from 15 games last season and, on potential to destroy opposition clubs, is my number six after a nine-goal game against Shepparton United.
Arnold has missed five games this year and was injured early in one of the four games he has played. He had 90 shots on goal last season (kicking 41 behinds) and is on track for a repeat of his inside-50 marking average of 2022.
Number seven is former North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs small Nathan Hrovat, a standout for the Shepparton Swans this season with his elite status for disposals (equal second in league with 31), uncontested marks (second in league, 7.7 a game) and clearances (5.7).
He has had 30-plus disposals in all but two of his nine games this season.
Will Gold’s impact on Kyabram has been significant in his four games this season, putting him at number eight on my list, and the GVL Bombers will be hoping his call-ups for Essendon in the VFL are few and far between.
He played with the VFL club for the first time last weekend, after having had back-to-back 31-disposal/three-goal and 26-disposal/four-goal games for Kyabram.
He is the number one player in the GVL for handball receives (averaging 3.67 from his three games) and his running power enables him to contribute at both ends (averaging three inside-50s and five rebound-50s in his three matches).
A surprise inclusion at number nine is Rochester’s Blake Evans, simply because he is putting up numbers that just can’t be ignored — a 40-disposal (including 36 kicks) game against Euroa the highlight of his season.
He has the most effective kick-ins (averaging 7.4 a week) in the league, has had more kicks than any other player in the GVL and is also a top-five player for rebounds-50s.
All but 30 of Evans’ 209 disposals this season have been kicks. He is also a top-15 player for intercept marks and total disposals (12th in the GVL).
Seymour’s Jack O’Sullivan has more strings to his bow than most players in the competition and ranks number 10 on my list for his all-round abilities.
He is fourth for pressure acts and sixth for score involvements this season. He has had 21 effective inside-50 entries (from 45), is seventh for total disposals and third in the league for goal assists.
Twice this season he has had more than 35 disposals and is also elite for tackles.
When the ball is in dispute, United’s Joel Serra (number 11) is at his best, having the most loose ball gets in the GVL this season.
He is also second for effective inside-50 kicks (27 of 47 finding their intended target), registering 10 against Tatura when he had 33 disposals, 13 clearances and five tackles.
Ted Lindon is on track for back-to-back rebound-50 titles in the GVL and comes in at number 12 for that reason alone. He is averaging more than eight a game this season and is a top-10 player for one percenters.
Lindon had a season-high 32 disposals against Kyabram in round three and is averaging 23.3 disposals.
12 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN SECOND HALF OF SEASON
1. Will Hayes (Euroa): most disposals
2. Sam Reid (Echuca): most tackles
3. Lachlan Smith (Kyabram): most marks
4. Joe Atley (Rochester): most ground ball gets
5. Zac Norris (Kyabram): most clearances
6. Cameron Arnold (Mansfield)
7. Nathan Hrovat (Swans): third for disposals
8. Will Golds (Kyabram)
9. Blake Evans (Rochester): second-most kicks
10. Jack O’Sullivan (Seymour)
11. Joel Serra (United): most loose ball gets
12. Ted Lindon (Bears): most rebound-50s
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor