Best AFL Finals Player

[Spazz Cat]

Blicavs at the bottom. Colour me surprised.

There was no point even looking at Blitz's one. Not going to learn anything new there.

 

[Sire of Claude]

Below Kings:
Parfitt
Hawkins
Mieirs
Dalhouse
Blicavs
Duncan
Dangerfield
Rohan

Some of these are coming off a higher Home and Away base, while perhaps Kolo is the reverse. No doubt I've missed a few.

But there, as much as anything else, is why we are a flop in finals: the big picture is that too many players upon whom we depend to influence the game have minimal impact.

I doubt if Parfitt averages 20 disposals in Home and Away, let alone finals; but even a B-grade mid should be able to scrounge 20+ a game. And then there's the little matter of kicking the gonad.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Interesting list. And funny how Gary Rohan seems to get singled out for criticism either via the media or from fans when so many are either equally as poor if not worse than him over the past few years.

Not excusing his poor showings, but I've always found it very strange that when we get beaten badly, it's our third forward who seems to be cop the lion's share of the blame.

I'm not saying it's fear of witchcraft, but then again...

The Myths and History of Red Hair - Witchcraft and Heresy

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

Assigning +2 for career best, +1 for “above”, 0 for “same”, -1 for “below” and -2 for “NEGATIVE” you get:

View attachment 1257836

It would be remiss of me not to mention that in 2 of Stanley's "below" games, he actually received coaches votes (2020 QF & 2020 SF) . I reckon same for Duncan, without bothering to check.

It's an interesting list though. Quite telling how far down a lot of the older players are come finals - not a great endorsement for the Dad's Army approach. Also that so many defenders are up towards the top - I'm guessing these ranking are largely (soley?) based on stats so it's probably not that big a surprise given the ball seems to be down there more often come finals.

 

[My Tilly]

I'm guessing these ranking are largely (soley?) based on stats so it's probably not that big a surprise given the ball seems to be down there more often come finals.

Probably fantasy point ratings.
Players can suck throughout most of the game and bob up to get 8 meaningless last quarter disposals and boost their ratings.
DT live is always a good way to keep track of a players output. It at least gives a better understating of how a player performs from a consistency stand point over the four quarters.

 

[catempire]

It would be remiss of me not to mention that in 2 of Stanley's "below" games, he actually received coaches votes (2020 QF & 2020 SF) . I reckon same for Duncan, without bothering to check.

It's an interesting list though. Quite telling how far down a lot of the older players are come finals - not a great endorsement for the Dad's Army approach. Also that so many defenders are up towards the top - I'm guessing these ranking are largely (soley?) based on stats so it's probably not that big a surprise given the ball seems to be down there more often come finals.

Certainly you’re going to get some anomalies like this. Take the 2020 QF: Stanley was below his own average but rated above Lycett who was also below his season average. So it might have just been they cancelled each other out in terms of impact or the game was played in a way that didn’t suit either of their strengths.

As always with this type of thing: it’s just one way of looking at it. I just happen to like it because it’s objective and dispassionate.

 

[Sire of Claude]

Rohan really singles himself out. He's played a lot of finals and would be lucky to average 7 touches. He produced many Houdini performances for the Swans and has maintained that form for the Cats, his latest effort being one touch in over a half of football.

It amazes me how even the Cats coaching team are - like conspiracy theorists and Anti-vaxxers - so resistant to data. The fact is that restricted class gallopers don't suddenly start winning WFA races.

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

Probably fantasy point ratings.
Players can suck throughout most of the game and bob up to get 8 meaningless last quarter disposals and boost their ratings.
DT live is always a good way to keep track of a players output. It at least gives a better understating of how a player performs from a consistency stand point over the four quarters.

Nice. Never used that before, but just checked it out real quick. Looks good, thanks!

 

[TheWoodenSlug]

Certainly you’re going to get some anomalies like this. Take the 2020 QF: Stanley was below his own average but rated above Lycett who was also below his season average. So it might have just been they cancelled each other out in terms of impact or the game was played in a way that didn’t suit either of their strengths.

As always with this type of thing: it’s just one way of looking at it. I just happen to like it because it’s objective and dispassionate.

Oh absolutely - I agree 100%. I'm a bit of a stats nerd myself so I loved the table/list, but certainly understand they have their limitations. And I used coaches votes which obviously aren't infallible either, since they'll have their biases as well.

I guess I just don't agree with Stanley being quite so low, and what sort of fanboi would I be if I didn't point that out with ironclad, infallible, non-biased evidence like coaches votes??

 

[BotsMaster]

View attachment 1257835

Awesome work Didn't expect to see Duncan's performance to be so red, which is concerning and surprised to see a green box next to Parfitt's name.

 

[Partridge]

I'm not saying it's fear of witchcraft, but then again...

The Myths and History of Red Hair - Witchcraft and Heresy

Was he just told he had another physio appointment?

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Was he just told he had another physio appointment?

Hey, just because his new team hasn't had a happy ending in over a decade now doesn't mean the man himself cant...

 

[Catman]

Blicavs at the bottom. Colour me surprised.

Mitch Duncan just above him. Can't say I'm surprised with that either.

 

[BotsMaster]

Mitch Duncan just above him. Can't say I'm surprised with that either.

There has to be a reason for it. I mean most here consider him to be underrated in the eyes of the media.

 

[Catman]

There has to be a reason for it. I mean most here consider him to be underrated in the eyes of the media.

I think he probably is, but not by as much as many others think he is. I've always felt he's really struggled under finals heat. His SF against Sydney in 2017 was very good, but when the stakes were at their highest, he goes missing like so many of his teammates.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Mitch Duncan just above him. Can't say I'm surprised with that either.

Some of it is because I reckon he feels the heat and his productivity goes down, another part of it is being an outside receiver in finals where our inside players simply don't match their opposition.

 

[cats_09]

Mitch Duncan just above him. Can't say I'm surprised with that either.

Mitch seemed to turn the corner last year, and at halftime of the gf not only would he have been the favourite for the Norm Smith but he was also leading the way for the Gary Ayres medal at the Coaches Association for player of the finals

 

[Partridge]

Rohan really singles himself out. He's played a lot of finals and would be lucky to average 7 touches. He produced many Houdini performances for the Swans and has maintained that form for the Cats, his latest effort being one touch in over a half of football.

It amazes me how even the Cats coaching team are - like conspiracy theorists and Anti-vaxxers - so resistant to data. The fact is that restricted class gallopers don't suddenly start winning WFA races.

At a guess, some don't want to bag the club for recruiting him when everyone knew what the risk was. The way stats have infiltrated analysis now (both good and bad) means utterly meaningless things like how far you run get talked up even if they don't actually touch the ball. Some probably don't want to acknowledge he's just shit under pressure.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I love Tom as well, I've soured on his finals form lately due to his woeful kicking in most of the last handful of finals.
0.9 across 2 QFs is unforgivable for a bloke whose about the most accurate kick for goal.
I don't want to say he's choked finals recently, because he has a history of doing the opposite, but for a while there he was trending in the wrong direction.
But like you said, opportunities and quality of entries paints a bit of a picture aswell.

With a handful of exceptions, for a bloke that's played around 30 finals, his finals record is deplorable.

3 scoring shots on average over 29 games.

48 goals 39 behinds.

He has kicked either 1 or 0 goals in 14 of those 29 finals games for 9 goals 20 behinds.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Mitch seemed to turn the corner last year, and at halftime of the gf not only would he have been the favourite for the Norm Smith but he was also leading the way for the Gary Ayres medal at the Coaches Association for player of the finals

Would have been very close between him and Stewart, yeah? Not many memories of that game remain inside my skull after we blew the lead but from what I can scrape together Tom Stewart was my pick for our BOG

 

[Partridge]

With a handful of exceptions, for a bloke that's played around 30 finals, his finals record is deplorable.

3 scoring shots on average over 29 games.

48 goals 39 behinds.

He has kicked either 1 or 0 goals in 14 of those 29 finals games for 9 goals 20 behinds.

I would not have predicted that. Then again given our season lowest scores seem to always happen in finals it's not so unusual I suppose.

 

[catempire]

With a handful of exceptions, for a bloke that's played around 30 finals, his finals record is deplorable.

3 scoring shots on average over 29 games.

48 goals 39 behinds.

He has kicked either 1 or 0 goals in 14 of those 29 finals games for 9 goals 20 behinds.

The only thing in his defence is our inside 50s in finals over most of that period are probably down 30% on H&A.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I would not have predicted that. Then again given our season lowest scores seem to always happen in finals it's not so unusual I suppose.

I reckon I could count on 1 hand the good finals he's played in those 29.

His 'breakout' in the 2011 gf, from memory, 2 of his goals were off the ground and the other was a handball in the square from Ottens. He missed his 3 sets shots when he was dominating in the air for about a half a quarter to a quarter and in the end had to give a sneaky little handball to SJ to capitalise on his dominance.

The semi final in 2019 ago against WCE. Kicked 4.1 out of 13 goals (SavRat kicked 3 straight) and got himself rubbed out and missed the prelim.

2014 sf against North Melbourne when it looked like he would single handedly get us over the line only for Goldy to sink us.

The sf against GWS this year.

Barely any of those early finals saw him play as 2nd ruck, we either had Ottens / Blake or Ottens / West and later West / Vardy.

2010 I'd say he was 2nd ruck in the SF and PF.

2009
QF 0.1 (14 point win over the Dogs)
PF 2.1 (73 point win over Collingwood)
GF 2.0 (one hit the post)(12 point win over St Kilda)

2010
QF 0.2 (4 point loss to St Kilda)
SF 1.1 (69 point win over Freo)
PF 0.0 (41 point loss to Collingwood after they took their foot off the gas.)

2011
QF 2.0 (31 point win over Hawthorn)
PF 2.1 (48 point win over WCE)
GF 3.3 (39 point win over Collingwood)

2012
EF 0.2 (16 point loss to Freo in Melbourne)

2013
SF 2.1 (16 point win over Port)
PF 1.1 (5 point loss to Hawthorn)

2014
QF 1.2 (36 point loss to Hawthorn)
SF 5.3 (6 point loss to North)

2016
QF 2.0 (2 point win over Hawthorn, Smith miss after siren)
PF 1.1 (37 point loss to Sydney, Harry Taylor was our leading goal scorer)

2017
QF 1.0 (51 point loss to Richmond)
SF 1.0 (59 point win over Sydney)
PF 1.0 (61 point loss to Adelaide)

2018
EF 2.0 (29 point loss to Melbourne)

2019
QF 0.4 (10 point loss to Collingwood)
SF 4.1 (20 point win over WCE)

2020
QF 0.5 (16 point loss to Port, as a team we kicked 5 goals, Stanley kicked 2 of them.)
SF 4.1 (68 point win over Collingwood)
PF 2.3 (40 point win over Brisbane)
GF 1.2 (31 point loss to Richmond)

2021
QF 2.1 (43 point loss to Port, we kicked 5 goals as a team)
SF 5.1 (35 point win over Giants)
PF 1.2 (83 point loss to Melbourne)

 

[Partridge]

I reckon I could count on 1 hand the good finals he's played in those 29.

His 'breakout' in the 2011 gf, from memory, 2 of his goals were off the ground and the other was a handball in the square from Ottens. He missed his 3 sets shots when he was dominating in the air for about a half a quarter to a quarter and in the end had to give a sneaky little handball to SJ to capitalise on his dominance.

The semi final in 2019 ago against WCE. Kicked 4.1 out of 13 goals (SavRat kicked 3 straight) and got himself rubbed out and missed the prelim.

2014 sf against North Melbourne when it looked like he would single handedly get us over the line only for Goldy to sink us.

The sf against GWS this year.

Barely any of those early finals saw him play as 2nd ruck, we either had Ottens / Blake or Ottens / West and later West / Vardy.

2010 I'd say he was 2nd ruck in the SF and PF.

2009
QF 0.1 (14 point win over the Dogs)
PF 2.1 (73 point win over Collingwood)
GF 2.0 (one hit the post)(12 point win over St Kilda)

2010
QF 0.2 (4 point loss to St Kilda)
SF 1.1 (69 point win over Freo)
PF 0.0 (41 point loss to Collingwood after they took their foot off the gas.)

2011
QF 2.0 (31 point win over Hawthorn)
PF 2.1 (48 point win over WCE)
GF 3.3 (39 point win over Collingwood)

2012
EF 0.2 (16 point loss to Freo in Melbourne)

2013
SF 2.1 (16 point win over Port)
PF 1.1 (5 point loss to Hawthorn)

2014
QF 1.2 (36 point loss to Hawthorn)
SF 5.3 (6 point loss to North)

2016
QF 2.0 (2 point win over Hawthorn, Smith miss after siren)
PF 1.1 (37 point loss to Sydney, Harry Taylor was our leading goal scorer)

2017
QF 1.0 (51 point loss to Richmond)
SF 1.0 (59 point win over Sydney)
PF 1.0 (61 point loss to Adelaide)

2018
EF 2.0 (29 point loss to Melbourne)

2019
QF 0.4 (10 point loss to Collingwood)
SF 4.1 (20 point win over WCE)

2020
QF 0.5 (16 point loss to Port, as a team we kicked 5 goals, Stanley kicked 2 of them.)
SF 4.1 (68 point win over Collingwood)
PF 2.3 (40 point win over Brisbane)
GF 1.2 (31 point loss to Richmond)

2021
QF 2.1 (43 point loss to Port, we kicked 5 goals as a team)
SF 5.1 (35 point win over Giants)
PF 1.2 (83 point loss to Melbourne)

I would say to be fair I thought all three of his 2011 finals were very good. You could see he was getting better and contributing. I think the 2011 Grand final was more about confidence in his kicking, it was the last part to click. He hit the post twice too so it wasn't like he was shanking them on the full or anything. Pity as if he'd kicked 5-6 (which he really should have at least) he could have - and to me should have - won the Norm Smith.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I would say to be fair I thought all three of his 2011 finals were very good. You could see he was getting better and contributing. I think the 2011 Grand final was more about confidence in his kicking, it was the last part to click. He hit the post twice too so it wasn't like he was shanking them on the full or anything. Pity as if he'd kicked 5-6 (which he really should have at least) he could have - and to me should have - won the Norm Smith.

Yes, from memory, he wasn good in the back end of the h&a season in 2011.

He's always a presence that the opposition has to worry about, but so is Charlie Dixon and I don't rate Charlie at all.