One of the thread's I really enjoyed in 2011 was Grim's stats thread, and I believe it was around round 4 it made an appearance, and would love for it to come back this year, provided some really sharp contrasts in game style visible in the stats.
So hope I'm not stepping on any toes if I get the ball rolling.
I'll start with some key stats from end of 2011, and will compare with how we are tracking so far this year
Key Stats 2011
At the end of 2011 we were averaging:
So how are we tracking this year by comparison you ask?
Key Stats at Round 4 2012
In 2012 we are so far averaging:
Implications?
Whilst we shouldn't read too much into some stats, there are 2 key ones that I would like to point out.
Longmire said that they would work hard on skills over the pre-season, and I believe the results speak for themselves, to go from 3rd last to best in goal kicking accuracy is a clear indication that something has changed.
Combine this with a leap in our disposal efficiency from last in the competition last year to being fairly respectable this year around the middle of the pack (equal to Carlton and Collingwood) and we can be fairly confident that the promised skills work has done it's job.
There is an implication in the stats across the competition that I feel is worth mentioning, and that is the shift towards kicking rather than handballing. At the end of 2011, there were 4 teams with K/HB ratios above 1.4, these were Hawthorn, Collingwood, Carlton, and Sydney.
As of round 4 2012, there are 7 clubs over 1.4, and if we discard North as being *ed (their K/HB is <1)
Then the K/HB ratio over the competition has changed on average to be 6% higher from 1.32 to 1.38 (with North included the increase is closer to 4%)
So hope I'm not stepping on any toes if I get the ball rolling.
I'll start with some key stats from end of 2011, and will compare with how we are tracking so far this year
Key Stats 2011
At the end of 2011 we were averaging:
- 336 Disposals per game, of which 155 were contested, for a CP% of 46%
- Of those 336 disposals we averaged 202 kicks to 134 handballs, for a K/H% of 1.507, which was the highest in the league.
- Our Disposal Efficiency was 69%, which was Equal last in the competition (Hawthorn and Geelong were 75% and 74% respectively)
- We were averaging 14 Contested marks per game, which ranked us 6th
- However we were only averaging 11 marks inside 50 per game, giving us a ranking of 12th for this statistic.
- As one might expect, we were highly ranked in both hit outs, Ranked 4th with an average of 43per game, and Clearences where we ranked #1, and also averaged 43 per game, 2 more than 2nd place Collingwood on 41.
- We were ranked 4th for inside 50's averaging 54 per game, which really makes averaging 11 marks inside 50 a damning statistic.
- Once again as you may expect with the SCG, we were also the number 1 tackling side in the competition Averaging 79 per game.
- The next statistic shouldn't come as any great surprise, but our goal kicking efficiency was 3rd worst in the league at 48%
So how are we tracking this year by comparison you ask?
Key Stats at Round 4 2012
In 2012 we are so far averaging:
- 351 Disposals per game, and once again 155 contested per game for a CP% of 44%
- 200 Kicks and 151 Handballs per game for an K/H% of 1.32, now whilst I wouldn't draw too many inferences from this statistic just yet, there are some interesting implications which ill discuss later
- Importantly our disposal efficiency has increased to 73%
- We are averaging 12 contested marks per game, slightly less than last year.
- Marks inside 50, have fallen to an average of 8, which may be cause for some concern
- We are averaging 41 Hitouts per game, which is not markedly different, and 41 clearances per game
- We are currently averaging 61 inside 50's per game once again, either saying something damning about our marks inside 50 or pointing to a different approach
- Currently the #4 tackling side, averaging 71 per game.
- Lastly and perhaps most importantly, our accuracy infront of goal has skyrocketed to 69%, which is #1 in the league
Implications?
Whilst we shouldn't read too much into some stats, there are 2 key ones that I would like to point out.
Longmire said that they would work hard on skills over the pre-season, and I believe the results speak for themselves, to go from 3rd last to best in goal kicking accuracy is a clear indication that something has changed.
Combine this with a leap in our disposal efficiency from last in the competition last year to being fairly respectable this year around the middle of the pack (equal to Carlton and Collingwood) and we can be fairly confident that the promised skills work has done it's job.
There is an implication in the stats across the competition that I feel is worth mentioning, and that is the shift towards kicking rather than handballing. At the end of 2011, there were 4 teams with K/HB ratios above 1.4, these were Hawthorn, Collingwood, Carlton, and Sydney.
As of round 4 2012, there are 7 clubs over 1.4, and if we discard North as being *ed (their K/HB is <1)
Then the K/HB ratio over the competition has changed on average to be 6% higher from 1.32 to 1.38 (with North included the increase is closer to 4%)
