Mooroopna ruckman Keelin Betson went on his merry way through all four quarters of action against Euroa in a pivotal clash, even as the game’s fortunes drastically fluctuated around him.
His presence in the middle was a stable signal that the Cats’ midfield steadily received throughout the afternoon — but Betson saved plenty for himself.
Betson’s big day by the numbers
Disposals: 38 (84% efficiency)
Clearances: 21
Contested possessions: 25
Score involvements: 7
Intercept possessions: 5
Combine all of those elements and more for a hearty serving of 208 ranking points, far and away enough to claim the weekly throne.
Twenty-one clearances, this will come as no surprise to say, is an unheard-of number within the competition this season from any individual, with Euroa itself only reaching that tally a few minutes into the third term.
Eleven disposals, five clearances and two tackles would be a satisfactory first half for a good to very good on-baller, but the big Cat accumulated all that in the opening half-hour.
His side furiously sparked into life after quarter-time and Betson was once again front and centre, racking up more than half of his score involvements for the day in that time along with a casual seven more clearances.
Nobody could stop him after the long break either; did we mention he was winning the actual ruck battle in addition to his ground-ball prowess?
Betson was also one of only two players on the day, alongside Magpies star Jett Trotter, to clunk multiple contested marks, reinforcing him as a threat at all levels.
This eye-watering set of numbers vaulted the star ruck into serious contention for the league lead in a few statistical categories.
He nearly doubled his clearance count for the whole season, going from being more than doubled by Rochester’s Mitch Trewhella to now sitting one clearance outside the top 10.
While his tap work still only has him ninth for average hit-outs a game, there have been few to none better at clearing from stoppages around the ground than Betson, who sits in the top 10 for clearances from throw ins, contested possessions and effective handballs.
Just quietly, having 31 handpasses in among his roaring 38 touches doesn’t hurt, either — imagine his ranking points if those were kicks.
With Geelong having enjoyed an AFL bye, Betson could surely have staked a claim as one of the more dominant players anywhere in Australia wearing the blue and white hoops at the weekend.
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