The stats sheet made some beautiful reading for the Bulldogs, but was more like a Stephen King story for the Bloods.

Square squeezed the life out of the Bloods with constant pressure and disciplined team defence.

The Dogs had 412 possessions to 272 and took 110 marks to 79, which is normally an area where the Bloods thrive.

When the ball hit the ground the Dogs worked the Bloods over with 139 ground ball gets to just 79.

The inside 50 marks tally was quite remarkable - Golden Square 27 to South Bendigo 3.

Square had 12 players collect 20 or more possessions, led by Jake Thrum, Jack Geary and Ricky Monti with 27 each.

Thrum's 27 touches, 12 marks and 5.3 earned him a game-high 149 ranking points.

In comparison, the Bloods had just five players touch the ball 20 times or more.

The standout was Isaiah Miller, who had a game-high 28 touches.

The Dragons' best win of the season was set up by a brilliant third quarter.

Efficiency hasn't been the Dragons' strong suit in 2022, but their third term on Saturday showed what they're capable of.

The Dragons only had one more inside 50 than Gisborne for the quarter, but from 13 entries Sandhurst scored 6.3.

The Sandhurst defence was superb as it held Gisborne to 1.2 from 12 inside 50s.

Across the game, there wasn't much difference between the two teams.

Sandhurst had 27 more disposals (369-342), while Gisborne won the clearances 36-34 and had more inside 50s 54-47.

The difference was the spread of contributors.

Gisborne had too many players who had sub-par days. The Bulldogs had 14 of their 22 players have 14 possessions or less. Sandhurst had just six.

The impressive Cooper Smith and veteran Brodie Montague had 26 touches each, while Lee Coghlan's stellar season continued with 25 possessions.

Defender Liam Ireland (19 possessions and 10 marks) would be a lock for the BFNL Team of the Year through 10 rounds.

Gisborne's best player was defender Liam Spear, who had 26 possessions and nine marks for a team-high 129 ranking points.

You can't score if you don't have the Sherrin.

That was the issue for Eaglehawk when the game was on the line against the Storm.

Strathfieldaye's possession game denied the home side the footy.

The Storm had 403 disposals to Eaglehawk's 307, while the final inside 50 count was 47-38 in Strathfieldsaye's favour.

The inside 50 tally was somewhat flattering to Eaglehawk. It had been 41-21 at three quarter-time before the home side picked up some cheap ones in the last quarter when the result was done and dusted.

Storm's dynamic midfield duo Jake Moorhead and Cal McCarty combined for 82 possessions, 22 marks, 12 clearances and one goal.

Caleb Sheahan's return to the midfield mix was important for the Storm. He had 20 possessions, nine marks and seven clearances.

Defender Kobe Lloyd had 28 kicks for the Borough, but some of those were kick-ins from Storm behinds.

Noah Wheeler was the Borough's best, with 29 possessions and three goals.

No surprise to see the Tigers post some big numbers against the depleted Magpies.

Kyneton had 411 to 286 disposals, including a big discrepancy in contested disposals - 141 to 57.

The high number of possessions led to the Tigers having 70 inside 50s to 40 and 27 marks inside 50 to six.

Some familiar faces topped the stats sheet for Kyneton.

Rhys Magin had 27 touches, took nine marks and kicked 9.5 for 178 ranking points, while Cameron Manuel and defender Frazer Driscoll had 37 and 36 possessions respectively.

Tommy Horne again carried the load for the Pies.

The midfielder had 31 touches, eight marks and 11 clearances for 149 ranking points.

The Magpies won the contested disposals (99-88), the clearances (45-39) and tackles (77-36), but the Roos had more polish on the outside.

Kangaroo Flat dominated the inside 50s (66-42) and the uncontested disposals (266-221).

Crucially, the Roos had a target inside 50 that made the most of his chances.

Lachlan Wilson kicked 5.2 from 12 kicks, including two vital goals under pressure in the final term.

Mitch Collins (25), Liam Collins (25) and Mitch Trewhella (23) were the leading possession winners for the Roos.

Maryborough's cause was built around four players - Liam Latch, Aidan Hare, Coby Perry and Kya Lanfranchi - who combined for 140 of the club's 318 possessions.

Latch had 45 possessions, seven marks and 16 clearances for 154 ranking points. Hare was just as prolific with 44 touches, eight marks, 11 clearances for 162 ranking points.

READ MORE: Catch up on all the latest local footy news

...........................................

LADDER

Gisborne - 36

Strathfieldsaye - 32

Golden Square - 28

Kyneton - 28

Sandhurst - 20

Eaglehawk - 20

South Bendigo - 20

Kangaroo Flat - 12

Castlemaine - 4

Maryborough - 0

...........................................

ROUND 11

Gisborne v Kyneton

Strathfieldsaye v Sandhurst

Kangaroo Flat v Golden Square

South Bendigo v Eaglehawk

Castlemaine v Maryborough

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