The way it was explained is that everytime a side gives away a freekick it is counted as a contested possession to the opposition. Given that we've given away more free kicks than any other side by a long long way this season, the guys from CD said if you take away the contested possessions from free kicks, richmond is actually 3rd in the afl for contested possession differential. He also said when they provided clubs with data, clubs looked at it without the free kicks skewing the stats.
Before I heard this I didnt even know that free kicks counted as contested possessions to the side receiving them. Interesting
Contested possessions are made up of:
* Hard Ball Get (win disputed ball while physically beating an opponent at ground level)
* Loose Ball Get (win other disputed ball at ground level – ie. right place, right time)
* Contested Knock-on (knocking the ball out of a pack to a teammate’s advantage – Hawthorn do this a lot)
* Gather from Hitout to Advantage (similar to looseball get, but the ball was fed from the ruckman’s tap)
* Free Kicks (excluding those paid off the ball or downfield)
* Contested Marks (all marks where an opponent had a chance to mark or spoil – not including marks on lead)
I understand that part, which I am not disputing and yes your differential is -3 per game. But GWS are at -2 by game, yet rank considerable higher in contested possessions and stoppages
Richmond his year
Ranked 12th in Team to Opponent Contested Possessions Per Game Diff
Ranked 18th in Team to Opponent Stoppage Clearances Per Game Diff
This needs to be addressed, if you have any hope of winning finals.