This paper presents a comparison between natural and stochastic fracture systems in terms of their geomechanical response to in-situ stresses. An analogue fracture network (AFN) is extracted from the geological map of a limestone outcrop. A corresponding discrete fracture network (DFN) is generated using the statistics obtained from the analogue pattern, to ensure the two networks share the same statistical charac-teristics. The geomechanical response is modelled using the combined finite-discrete element method (FEM-DEM). A series of numerical experiments is designed with far-field stresses applied at a range of angles to the rock domain. A comparison between the natural fracture system and its DFN equivalent is made based on phenomena such as fracture-dependent stress heterogeneity, re-activation of pre-existing fractures, new crack propagation and variability of aperture distribution. This study addressed the validity of using the DFN ap-proach for geomechanical modelling of fractured rock masses and also has implications for flow simulations.