As round 10 concluded there was an extraordinarily small spread across the five winning margins in the Senior matches. Many other Leagues across Gippsland have been experiencing large spreads in the winning totals in the first 10 rounds of the 2022 season. While there has been the odd blow out result in the Gippsland League, the competitive balance across the senior teams has is setting up another high quality finish to the season.
Last weekend the total margin across the five matches totaled a miserly 21 points with two matches being decided by a single point and the largest total being Maffra's 11 point home win over 10th placed Drouin.
Gippsland League consulted our resident historian Paul Carter to check the history books on the closest rounds in our League's long history. For Round 10 2022, The average winning margin was 4.2 points per game. This makes it the closest round of matches for 55 years, going back to Round 7, 1967. On that day
the margins from the 5 games totaled 18 points at an average of 3.6 points per game.
The closest round in league history is Round 2, 1964 where the 6 games played that day had a total winning margin of 20 points, at an average of 3.33 points per game
Round 2, 1964
Morwell 11.12.78 d Heyfield 11.10.76 (Margin 2)
Bairnsdale 6.12.48 d Yallourn 5.12.42 (6)
Warragul 13.6.84 d Maffra 11.12.78 (6)
Stratford 9.9.63 drew Drouin 9.9.63 (0)
Sale 7.14.56 d Trafalgar 7.10.52 (4)
Traralgon 6.8.44 d Moe 5.12.42 (2)
Total (20) divided by 6 = 3.33 points per match
Round 7, 1967
Traralgon 10.9.69 d Yallourn 9.14.68 (1)
Warragul 8.9.57 d Heyfield 8.8.56 (1)
Sale 14.8.92 d Maffra 12.10.82 (10)
Bairnsdale 11.13.79 d Morwell 11.9.75 (4)
Moe 10.16.76 d Trafalgar 10.14.74 (2)
Total (18) divided by 5 = 3.6 points per match
Round 10, 2022
Maffra 10.10.70 d Drouin 9.5.59 (11)
Morwell 12.18.90 d Bairnsdale 12.13.85 (5)
Wonthaggi 14.6.90 d Sale 13.11.89 (1)
Leongatha 12.5.77 d Traralgon 11.8.74 (3)
Warragul 10.6.66 d Moe 8.17.65 (1)
Total (21) divided by 5 = 4.2 points per match
