The most ignored stat in the AFL - Nathan Fyfes disposal efficiency

[samFFC]

Another quiet 22 touches at 77% efficiency. 3 clearances and 1.2.

 

[dzx12]

Disposal efficiency is a distorted statistic. It's heavily influenced by three things.

Where you get the ball. If you get the ball in the forward half, especially kicking it inside 50 you will have a lower than deserving disposal efficiency. easier to hit targets coming out of defence than it is going inside forward 50.

How you get the ball. Play close to the ruckmen and get tagged and a lot of your disposals are under pressure. A lot of kicks that are just banged long out of a pack. Contested possession winners have a low disposal efficiency.

The players around you and game style. If the players around you are no good and your targets are poor then this will effect your disposal efficiency though this is not always the problem for Fyfe. Their game style however is very defensive and the free flowing up the middle game where it's easier to hit targets is not their thing, they'd rather go wide and go to contests which effects disposal efficiency.

While Fyfe could be a better kick there is a lot to consider when looking at this statistic.

Disposal efficiency is up there with total disposal count as the most useless stat in the AFL. I hate it when Ablett or Swan pick up 40 disposals and commentators drool all over it and talk about how that alone guarantees them 3 Brownlow Votes.

 

[gbatman]

I think there is still merit in being able to get the ball more than any other player on the field/league. Obviously the manner in which you get it and how you use it comes into things. It comes down to skill, work rate, desire, running ability, smarts etc. It's not easy to just walk out there and get it 40 times, especially if they are getting tagged. If it was easy then there would be heaps of players getting it regularly over 30 times but there isn't. When footy was more a possession game and there was a lot of sideways chipping in the backline and easy possessions then yes sometimes the possession was a nothing stat but with guys like Swan and Ablett who get tagged, play midfield and get the ball in the prime areas of the ground and have to work hard and use their abilities well to get it, well it means a bit then.

 

[Public Enemy No1]

Exposed on the big stage

 

[peppy la pew]

Exposed on the big stage

Like a crippled moth to a flame

 

[strategy]

Effective disposals / game

http://www.footywire.com/

Tambling approx efficiency is 83%
Pendles 77%
Ablett 67 %
Swan 63 %
Fyfe 63 %

Why is Tambling so good at efficiency yet seems to be lacking game time ? Is it because he isnt played in the right area or what ?