With the Lions requiring a victory to keep their Goulburn Valley League finals hopes alive, Hartley returned to the line-up after missing the preceding week’s loss to Mooroopna due to VFL commitments, and immediately changed the dynamic of his team’s forward set-up.
Stationing himself in the goal square, the long-sleeved spearhead made his presence felt from the first bounce, with his aerial dominance forcing Euroa to put two and at times three defenders by his side.
Finishing the match with a game-high three goals, one behind and one score assist, at first glance it may look like just a regular day at the office for the former AFL talent.
But speaking after the game, Seymour coach Ben Davey outlined just how vital Hartley was to his team coming away with what ended up being a season-defining 11-point win over the Magpies.
“Michael Hartley coming back in made a massive difference to the way we could set up around the ground,” Davey said.
“They had to put multiple really good defenders on him and that allowed us to do different things around the ground.
“The thing with Mick as well is that if he doesn’t mark it, the ball is coming to ground, nobody is out-marking him, and that gives our forward line so much more opportunity.”
At a glance
Michael Hartley v Euroa round 16
Goals: 3
Behinds: 1
Score assists: 1
Disposals: 11
Marks: 6
Contested marks: 4
Marks inside 50: 4
And trawling through the numbers thanks to GVL Data, you can see the impact Davey is alluding to.
In the air, Hartley was a force, taking six marks, four of which were contested and coming inside Seymour’s forward 50.
He also got his teammates into the game, setting up a crucial third-quarter goal for skipper Ben Clifton and allowed his small forwards and midfielders to get to work at ground level inside the Lions’ attacking 50.
The statistic that really stands out, however, is Seymour’s efficiency going inside 50.
Despite recording fewer inside 50s on the day (losing the count 45-39), Seymour converted 46 per cent of its entries into scores compared to Euroa’s 38 per cent.
The impact of Hartley was particularly felt in the second and third terms, as the Lions recorded an efficiency of 60 and 70 per cent in those two periods, ultimately leading to the victory.
