Q1 - Golden Square 2.6 (18) vs Sandhurst 3.1 (19)
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By quarter time, there was a sense at the QEO that this could be one of those grand finals for Golden Square.
They had dominated the first quarter yet trailed at the opening change due to poor conversion.
Every facet of their game was in working order, bar the final product, and their opening ten minutes were as intense as we've seen in 2023.
The comparison between the possession and tackling stats shows this.
While possessions were dead even with 80 apiece, the Bulldogs smashed the Dragons in the tackle count 14-6.
Their frontal pressure led to a clearance domination of 14-8, a territorial win of 15-10 inside 50s and 5-2 inside 50 marks.
Braydon Vaz took three of those marks, and while he kicked the opener, he only had one goal to show for it.
The Bulldogs' other goalkicker was Tom Toma, who began the game like a house on fire with ten disposals, two clearances, two inside 50s and a goal.
Eventual Nalder Medal winner Jack Geary started the game in the centre and gathered ten disposals, two clearances and an inside 50.
On the Dragons side of the coin, experienced campaigner Nicholas Stagg had seven disposals, but it was wingman Jake Mclean who was the most damaging Dragon on the ground by quarter time with six possessions, two inside 50s and a goal.
Q2 - Golden Square 3.2 (20) vs Sandhurst 1.2 (8)
Coming out of the first change, the script was flipped, and the Dragons couldn't capitalise on territory while the Bulldogs did.
The Dragons won the inside 50 count 14-11, but the Bulldogs looked far more dangerous heading into attack, as shown by the inside 50 marks (3-1).
Jack Stewart was the man who stood up in defence for the Bulldogs with six possessions and two intercept marks.
Contested possession and clearance were dead even, but the Dragons possessed the ball much better, having 54-36 uncontested possessions.
While they couldn't finish it off, it was some of their best ball movement all day, with six-to-one handball receives evidence of that.
This was the term Geary took the game by the scruff of the neck, having 11 disposals, a clearance, two inside 50 and two rebound 50s.
Stagg (nine disposals and three clearances) and McLean (seven disposals) continued their strong performances, while Liam Ireland (three intercept marks) and Bryce Curnow (12 disposals) began to insert themselves into the battle.
Q3 - Golden Square 1.1 (7) vs Sandhurst 3.4 (22)
They might have been smashed in the third term, but looking back, this could be where the Bulldogs won the game.
To only lose the quarter by 15 points when you conceded 18-5 inside 50s is a massive win.
After being well held by Matthew Compston in the first half, the best ruckman in the BFNL, Hamish Hosking, began to find his rhythm.
He won the hits-outs comfortably (26-4) and hit-outs to advantage (6-0), which allowed the Dragons to get the ascendency around the footy for the first time.
They gathered 50-41 contested possessions and 15-10 clearances throughout the third.
Noah Walsh and Sam Conforti were the second and third-best players on the ground on Saturday after Geary, and they made their move in the third term.
Walsh had eight disposals, four clearances, four inside 50s and three effective tackles, while Conforti amassed nine disposals, two clearances, four inside 50s and a goal.
Jon Coe (six disposals and three marks) and Jayden Burke (two intercept marks) were the generals down back under siege.
Q4 - Golden Square 4.2 (26) vs Sandhurst 2.4 (16)
The 16-8 inside 50s the Dragons amassed in the final term is a bit of an unfair reflection, with a lot of the difference coming in the last ten minutes when the Bulldogs were holding on for dear life.
Up until the 20-minute mark of the last quarter, it was relatively even around most stats.
All up, the Bulldogs won contested possession (41-38), uncontested possession (31-24) and tackles (23-20).
The Dragons had the upper hand in clearances (14-9), intercept marks (5-1), and hit-outs (23-6).
Walsh was the main man when it came to the clearance dominance, having five for the quarter.
Andrew Collins kicked two goals in the last, but that was cancelled out down the other end by Liam Barrett with three.
Barrett was a part of a trio of unlikely last-quarter heroes for the Bulldogs, with Tom Strauch and Jack Threlfall their best three players in a riveting ending.
Threlfall had ten disposals, two clearances, one inside 50 and two rebound 50s.
Strauch had seven touches and a clearance.
Overall - Golden Square 10.11 (71) vs Sandhurst 9.11 (65)
The Dragons will feel like this was the one that got away when they look at the stat sheet.
They won contested possession (173-164), uncontested possession (141-137), handball receives (13-6), clearances (47-43), intercept marks (22-14), inside 50s (58-39), ground ball gets (73-55) and hit-outs (78-24).
Geary was clearly the best player on the ground with 35 disposals, five clearances, three inside 50s, eight-rebound 50s and 155 ranking points.
Walsh was next best with 28 disposals, nine clearances, seven inside 50s and 115 ranking points.
STATS LEADERBOARDS:
RANKING POINTS:
Jack Geary (GS) 155
Nick Stagg (Sh) 129
Hamish Hosking (Sh) 120
Sam Conforti (Sh) 118
Noah Walsh (Sh) 115
Bryce Curnow (Sh) 112
Liam Ireland (Sh) 106
Tom Toma (GS) 105
Tom Strauch (GS) 97
Ryan Hartley (GS) 95
DISPOSALS:
Jack Geary (GS) 35
Sam Conforti (Sh) 29
Noah Walsh (Sh) 28
Bryce Curnow (Sh) 27
Jake Thrum (GS) 26
Tom Toma (GS) 25
Nick Stagg (Sh) 25
Jack Threlfall (GS) 21
Jack Hickman (GS) 19
Ricky Monti (GS) 19
CONTESTED POSSESSIONS:
Sam Conforti (Sh) 23
Jack Geary (Sh) 18
Noah Walsh (Sh) 18
Tom Toma (GS) 14
Liam Barrett (GS) 13
Nick Stagg (Sh) 13
Zavier Murley (GS) 12
Ricky Monti (GS) 11
Tom Strauch (GS) 11
Hamish Hosking (Sh) 11
MARKS:
Jack Geary (GS) 10
Liam Ireland (Sh) 9
Nick Stagg (Sh) 9
Jon Coe (GS) 8
Braydon Vaz (GS) 7
Jayden Burke (GS) 7
Archer Day-Wicks (Sh) 7
Jack Threlfall (GS) 6
Jake Thrum (GS) 6
Jake McLean (Sh) 6
CONTESTED MARKS:
Jayden Burke (GS) 4
Archer Day-Wicks (Sh) 4
Matt Thornton (Sh) 4
Liam Barrett (GS) 2
Bryce Curnow (Sh) 2
Caleb Connick (Sh) 2
Isaac Ruff (Sh) 2
Braydon Vaz (GS) 1
Hamish Morcom (GS) 1
Hugh Freckleton (GS) 1
INTERCEPT MARKS:
Jayden Burke (GS) 5
Liam Ireland (Sh) 5
Isaac Ruff (Sh) 4
Bryce Curnow (Sh) 3
James Coghlan (Sh) 3
Jack Stewart (GS) 2
Jake Thrum (GS) 2
Darcy Mills (Sh) 2
Braydon Vaz (GS) 1
Jack Geary (GS) 1
CLEARANCES:
Hamish Hosking (Sh) 11
Noah Walsh (Sh) 9
Ryan Hartley (GS) 7
Tom Toma (GS) 6
Nick Stagg (Sh) 6
Jack Hickman (GS) 5
Jack Geary (GS) 5
Sam Conforti (Sh) 5
Tom Strauch (GS) 4
Zavier Murley (GS) 4
INSIDE 50s:
Noah Walsh (Sh) 7
Sam Conforti (Sh) 7
Jake McLean (Sh) 6
Nick Stagg (Sh) 5
Joel Brett (GS) 4
Ricky Monti (GS) 4
Ryan Hartley (GS) 4
Zavier Murley (GS) 4
Archer Day-Wicks (Sh) 4
Lee Coghlan (Sh) 4
SCORE INVOLVEMENTS:
Braydon Vaz (GS) 8
Joel Brett (GS) 8
Liam Barrett (GS) 8
Jack Geary (GS) 7
Nick Stagg (Sh) 7
Sam Conforti (Sh) 7
Hamish Morcom (GS) 6
Lee Coghlan (Sh) 6
Tom Strauch (GS) 5
Archer Day-Wicks (Sh) 5
TACKLES:
Tom Strauch (GS) 9
Ricky Monti (GS) 7
Zavier Murley (GS) 7
Jack Hickman (GS) 5
Joel Brett (GS) 5
Nick Stagg (Sh) 5
Noah Walsh (Sh) 5
Zac Pallpratt (Sh) 5
Braydon Vaz (GS) 4
Hamish Morcom (GS) 4
SPOILS:
Jayden Burke (GS) 5
Hamish Morcom (GS) 3
Harry Burke (GS) 3
Jon Coe (GS) 3
Bryce Curnow (Sh) 3
Jack Hickman (GS) 2
Jack Threlfall (Sh) 2
Zack Shelton (GS) 2
Alex Wharton (Sh) 2
Isaac Ruff (Sh) 2
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