Disposal efficiency/effectivness

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DV2000

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May 9, 2014
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Many fans often get over-excited when they hear about a player getting a heap of disposals, but usually don't look into the efficiency and effectiveness of those passes. In my opinion, there is little benefit in getting 35 possessions week in week out, when only half of your kicks and handballs hit the intended target, and/or impact the game in your team's favour. I thought it would be interesting to look at the stats of some of the best midfielders in the game. These are the the players that are in the top 10 for average disposals per game this season (minimum number of games is 10):

NAME (AVE. DISPOSALS)/(DISP. EFF%)

Gary Ablett (32)/(69.5%)
Josh P Kennedy (30.4)/(67.1%)
Dion Prestia (29.4)/(68.6%)
Scott Pendlebury (29.1)/(71.9%)
Matthew Stokes (29)/(72.4%)
Matt Priddis (28.7)/(64.1%)
Jobe Watson (28.3)/(76.8%)
Dayne Beams (28.2)/(65.2%)
Nathan Jones (28.2)/(71.9%)
Dyson Heppell (28.1)/(68.2%)

Out of these players, Jobe Watson has the highest disposal efficiency, with 76.8%, while the lowest is Matt Priddis (64.1%).

Other midfielders that gain a lot of the ball and have high efficiency rates are
Jack Macrae, (ave. 27.2 disposals and efficiency of 74.9%)
Brent Harvey (ave. 26.3 disposals and efficiency of 77.5%)
Grant Birchall (ave. 25.3 disposals and efficiency of 80.3%)

The players that have the highest disposal efficiency (with at least 185 disposals for the season) are:

Scott D Thompson (NM) - 89.4
Dustin Fletcher (Ess) - 86.4
Lachlan Hansen (NM) - 84.6
Paul Duffield (Frem) - 84.2
Cale Hooker (Ess) - 84.1

These stats sum up why players like Scott Pendlebury, Jobe Watson and Gary Ablett are regarded so highly, as they not only get a lot of possession, they use it to positively influence the game for their team's benefit. I believe that there is next to no point in merely racking up kicks and handballs - no matter how many you get, as if they are ineffective, they could actually end up helping the opposition.
 
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wowlace

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Feb 15, 2010
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Yeah nah. So many one-two handballs would be considered efficient, but hardly impact the game. Dudes chipping it around down back hardly impact the game. A good long 50-60m switch kick is different. But 20m kicks backwards do not impact at all.
 

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I don't get why this isn't a stat
Net Effective Disposals - Effective Disposals minus Clangers
Still based around effective disposals so players who are good at accumulating don't get overlooked with a purely effective disposal percentage. However clangers are taken away as they are detrimental.
Also differentiates between a ineffective disposal and a clanger. A bad kick to a player 35 metres away on the lead that gets spoiled out of bounds would be a bad kick under disposal efficiency, however it isn't a clanger by any means. It's just a bad kick that should have been flatter or put in front of your teammate. A clanger should be counted differently.
 

hutchy31

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May 25, 2014
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Yeah nah. So many one-two handballs would be considered efficient, but hardly impact the game. Dudes chipping it around down back hardly impact the game. A good long 50-60m switch kick is different. But 20m kicks backwards do not impact at all.

Agree completely. I'm pretty sure that in the top European football (soccer) leagues they have stats for no of passes, pass completion (efficiency) etc, but there are also stats about passes that are longer/riskier and that are critical in leading to goalscoring chances/goals. You often see passages of play in AFL games where you see stats being artificially inflated by keeping possession.

Having said that, I think most fans and experts alike are realistic about the value of these stats. Ablett and Pendlebury are universally acknowledged as the best players in the league, and probably someone like Selwood is next even though he doesn't appear in this list. I would be interested in his disposal efficiency, but you couldn't convince me that it means he's less of a player than the other names above.
 
Champion Data definitions:
Disposal efficiency - percentage of disposals that are effective.

So what is an effective disposal?
Effective handball - a handball to a teammate that hits the intended target.

Effective long kick - a kick of more than 40 metres to a 50/50 contest or better for the team.

Effective short kick - a kick of less than 40 metres that results in the intended target retaining possession. Does not include kicks that are spoiled by the opposition.

Make of that what you will.
 
Aug 18, 2006
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the numbers dont prove much. the OP shows the best effeciency are by backmen and that is because they get so many chip it around possessions that mean bugger all.

Player A could have 30 touches at 80% efficiency and player B could have 30 touches at 60% efficiency. However Player A's misses might cost the team 4 goals in turnovers where as player B's misses may result in no goals through turnovers.

To me its all about when they turn it over (under pressure/not etc), where they turn it over and what happens when it is turned over.
 

Neville Bartos

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Kane Cornes (27.3) (72.6%)
Robbie Gray (24.2) (71%)
Travis Boak (26.9) (72%)
Brad Ebert (23.9) (69.7%)
Jared Polec (23.9) (74.3%)
Hamish Hartlett (21.2) (72.6%)

Pretty effective midfield group there
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Underdog

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Like any stat, it can't be used in singularity and needs context. One must understand the definition of the stat and how it may or may not relate within a game situation.

I personally don't give it much weight, at least no more than many other statistics.
 

Underdog

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Player A could have 30 touches at 80% efficiency and player B could have 30 touches at 60% efficiency. However Player A's misses might cost the team 4 goals in turnovers where as player B's misses may result in no goals through turnovers.
Furthermore! player B might only have an inferior percentage because he operates in more contested and congested confines rather than outside without much pressure like player A. There are MANY circumstances that affect disposal that the statistic used in singularity doesn't account for.
 

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dickballsack

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Dec 15, 2009
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Many fans often get over-excited when they hear about a player getting a heap of disposals, but usually don't look into the efficiency and effectiveness of those passes. In my opinion, there is little benefit in getting 35 possessions week in week out, when only half of your kicks and handballs hit the intended target, and/or impact the game in your team's favour. I thought it would be interesting to look at the stats of some of the best midfielders in the game. These are the the players that are in the top 10 for average disposals per game this season (minimum number of games is 10):

NAME (AVE. DISPOSALS)/(DISP. EFF%)

Gary Ablett (32)/(69.5%)
Josh P Kennedy (30.4)/(67.1%)
Dion Prestia (29.4)/(68.6%)
Scott Pendlebury (29.1)/(71.9%)
Matthew Stokes (29)/(72.4%)
Matt Priddis (28.7)/(64.1%)
Jobe Watson (28.3)/(76.8%)
Dayne Beams (28.2)/(65.2%)
Nathan Jones (28.2)/(71.9%)
Dyson Heppell (28.1)/(68.2%)

Out of these players, Jobe Watson has the highest disposal efficiency, with 76.8%, while the lowest is Matt Priddis (64.1%).

Other midfielders that gain a lot of the ball and have high efficiency rates are
Jack Macrae, (ave. 27.2 disposals and efficiency of 74.9%)
Brent Harvey (ave. 26.3 disposals and efficiency of 77.5%)
Grant Birchall (ave. 25.3 disposals and efficiency of 80.3%)

The players that have the highest disposal efficiency (with at least 185 disposals for the season) are:

Scott D Thompson (NM) - 89.4
Dustin Fletcher (Ess) - 86.4
Lachlan Hansen (NM) - 84.6
Paul Duffield (Frem) - 84.2
Cale Hooker (Ess) - 84.1

These stats sum up why players like Scott Pendlebury, Jobe Watson and Gary Ablett are regarded so highly, as they not only get a lot of possession, they use it to positively influence the game for their team's benefit. I believe that there is next to no point in merely racking up kicks and handballs - no matter how many you get, as if they are ineffective, they could actually end up helping the opposition.
Most stats are useless but this one is the worst. Guys that win the ball straight from a contest and kick or handball forward to another contest will be considered ineffective and still be the most important player. To give you an idea on what clubs think are important they ONLY measure by player contested ball won ( and unlike dream team and sc clubs only consider contested as a disputed footy won), pressure acts, pressure acts resulting in turnover/resulted goals and 1%'s which is shepherds, blocks, running into space to create space and the players personal KPI for the game which would consist of targets for these measures and maybe a target for keeping a particular opponent to a number of these targets. As I've stated before the best way to determine who is the best or most influential player is to watch the game rather than read stats.
 

dickballsack

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I think the Saints game on the weekend didn't have a big discrepancy between contested ball winning, or clearances. But it was a 100 point drubbing. I put it down to turnovers and ball use.
No, as I stated in my earlier post it's just a useless stat that is used for dreamteam, super coach , fantasy league, etc, which is great as it's a measure for a game. But unfortunately it's used by journos to write stories and then punters on forums that have never physically hurt to win a piece of leather quote the stats to discredit players that go out and punish themselves but win an internet argument. You're a saints supporter, Lenny would never feature in these stats but I'm sure he's won 3 or 4 b&f's at the saints. When he puts his body on the line and crashes into a pack/contest and wills his way into winning the pill and gets it's forward to another stoppage. That, as a stat is ineffective, but in a game it's enormous because it stops the opposition from a clearance. Forget stats and just watch and admire good players.
 
Jun 23, 2008
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A few misconceptions/underestimations in this thread as to what actually goes into and is factored into the Champion Data Player Ranking score, AKA "Supercoach scores". It exists as a weighted statistical measurement of impact, rather than just a tally of raw stats.
 

Despair

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Pointless stat.

Imagine you have two midfielders..

Midfielder A is a decent midfielder who is unambitious and generally looks to link up with other midfielders. He operates @ 75% by foot when kicking to other people in the midfield/half forward.

Midfielder B is a gun who is your prime user (Goddard type) when kicking inside 50, he hits blokes on a lead a lot. He operates @ 68% by foot when kicking to leading targets inside 50.

You tell me who is more important. (Hint: It's not the guy with the higher disposal efficiency)
 
Jun 4, 2005
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A good stat would be effective contested possessions. Is this recorded?
????

People need to understand that a possession is not the same as a disposal.

A contested possession includes the following:

Hardball gets
Loose-ball gets
Contested marks
Free kicks for
Gathers from a HO
Gathers from a knock on

So your request, C.Hooker getting a free for a hand in the back and then chipping 20m backwards to D.Fletcher would qualify as 'effective contested possession' which would be a contested possession followed by an effective disposal.

Why would that be a good stat?
 

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