John I Dent Cup Round 2 Preview and stats breakdown

With Round 2 of the John I Dent Cup kicking off this weekend we have unpacked all the Round 1 action as the competition looks ahead to the upcoming matches.

With 3 clashes across the capital at Phillip Oval, ANU North Oval and Campese Field our preview aims to show who is looking the goods early in 2024.

See our full stats breakdown ahead of Round 1 below:

• In Round 1 the Wests Lions and Tuggeranong Vikings both made strong statements seeing the table topping sides flaunt an impressive for/against early.
• Another impressive feat was made by the Canberra Royals, as the side in blue managed to secure an early win over the defending champions at their home ground no less, in a close affair that lived up to its match of the round status.
• Uni-Norths and Queanbeyan both roll into Round 2 with points to prove after suffering convincing defeats, hurting their for/against early while securing no bonus points in the opening round.

• In Round 1 there were two players securing a try-double, with both Lincoln Smith from the Royals and Luke Depiazzi from Wests securing 10 points for their respective sides.
• Over in the point scorers category three men managed to secure a 13 point effort, most crucially was Pedro Rolando from the Royals as his kicking game proved to be the difference against Gungahlin.

• With all sides having a minimum of 2 shots at goal in Round 1, each respective side had the following kicking percentage. Queanbeyan - 100% (2/2), Wests - 86% (6/7), Royals - 83% (5/6), Tuggeranong - 67% (4/6), Uni-Norths 67% (2/3), Gungahlin 40% (2/5).

• Three teams have started off strong in the scrums with Gungahlin, Royals and Uni-Norths all maintaining a 100% success rate in their own scrums.
• Wests proved to have plenty of running in Round 1, managing six line breaks in their match, three times more than the second most from Tuggeranong.
• Discipline proved to be an issue for both Queanbeyan and Uni-Norths who proved to be their own worst enemies, conceding thee most penalties of any teams in the competition.
• Royals also proved to be crafty in the ruck, finding a way to complete a total of 10 turnovers which was the most in the competition.

• With both sides coming into the clash with two wins and a draw in their last five, the Round 2 Match of the Round shapes to be a blockbuster.
• In their last five competition matches across 2023 and 2024 both sides flaunt a 3-2 win-loss record therefore still proving to be inseparable.
• The only split between these sides is through our match predictor, where the Vikings are favoured at 58% to the Royals 42%.

• Wests just have the edge in this matchup as of late, with the Lions holding a 3-2 lead in their last five.
• In terms of their last five competition matches, the Wests are clear favourites with a 3-2 record compared to the Owls 1-4.
• Historically, the Owls have won 50% of these clashes since 2015, with 5% being decided by a draw and the remaining 45% won by Wests.
• The match predictor cannot split the sides however, with an even 50/50 split for this match.

• Despite being the defending champions, the underdogs in Queanbeyan interestingly hold the 3-2 advantage in these teams last five matches.
• However the 2023 champions bounce back in their last five total matches with an impressive 4-1 record, while the Whites have struggled with three losses, one draw and one win.
• Queanbeyan just have the bragging rights in total wins since 2015 in the matchup however with the side having 10 wins to the Eagles 9.
• The match predictor heavily favours the away side with Gungahlin boasting a strong 64% on the match predictor, leaving the Whites with 36% winning odds.