GVL Data | Murray Bombers’ first receivers

But one that stands out is the prowess of the Murray Bombers’ collective midfield mettle.

Against Euroa at the weekend, Echuca’s midfield once again led the way in another stirring win.

Earlier in the week, The Riv highlighted the performances of Echuca’s engine room in that triumph.

The reason their work is so vital to keeping the cogs of the Murray Bombers’ machine turning though is much greater than the sum of their individual statistical output.

Against the Magpies, Echuca sourced the vast majority of its scoring (69 of 102 points) from the midfield.

From turnovers in the midfield it was 39 points, 24 from stoppages as well as a goal directly from a centre bounce.

The performance was not an outlier either.

In round 12 against the Shepparton Swans, Echuca scored 81 of 120 points from the midfield.

In round 11 it was 109 of 157 points that were sourced directly from between the arcs in a huge win over Benalla, while in round 10 against Shepparton United it was again 81 points that the Murray Bombers garnered from either midfield turnovers or stoppages.

When you watch vision of Echuca’s attacking forays this campaign, one of the key aspects that stands out is the side’s spread from the contest.

Players such as Jack McHale win the ball at the coal face, but it is the likes of Andrew Walker, Riley Smith and Mitch Wales who benefit most from quick hands to release them on the run.

Wales compiled the second-highest handball receives from an individual in round five when he racked up 20 of them, while Walker and Smith have both had matches of 19 in the category.

Echuca also comfortably leads the handball receive totals for the league with 1330 to round 12 — almost 70 more than the next best side.

There are no doubt a lot of ingredients in Echuca’s success this year, but fast hands in the middle of the ground is certainly one of the feature additions to the broth.