Shane Mumford again had an injury interrupted season, missing four matches over the course of the year. His 2013 statistics suggest he played much of the first half of the season with an injury, before fracturing his cheekbone in round 11, which saw him miss three weeks. Prior to the unique injury, Mumford had returned a well below-par average of 78.7. Upon his return in round 15, the man who devours sausages at will, was seemingly refreshed and a different player, averaging 106.7.
Whatever the reason that saw “Mummy” return to his best, whether it was overcoming injury, positional changes in the Swans side or simply form. None of that matters now as he heads across town to join his third AFL club – Greater Western Sydney.
Mumford will no doubt become the Giants new number one ruckman, however the main question will be does he have that position all to himself? Or will Jonathan Giles still play a role for the side. The answer to that question will go a long way to predicting Mumford’s average, another query on Mumford is his durability.
On the flip side, finding a durable ruckman can be a hard task. With the likelihood of Matthew Kreuzer, Nic Naitanui and Aaron Sandilands all being hugely popular selections next year – all have poor injury records, so does this make Mumford a wise point of difference?
Mumford is the classic case of injury risk versus proven scoring output, he is a safe and terrific selection based on his scoring however his injury concerns are constant. He is a contested ball monster, dominates hit out’s and lays plenty of tackles while also boasting a happy knack of hitting the scoreboard; it’s these traits that make Mumford the scoring machine we know he can be.
The one unproven quantity of his game is his body’s ability to hold up week in week out, with a strong pre-season behind him and a club in dire need for a player like him, he could prove a defining selection for your squad.