RP are we spreading that well vs the League if basing this on UPs? I'm not so sure.

Did some quick numbers.

Average UPs per game for the season to Rnd 11, 2015 are

*League 225

MFC 200

That's a gap of 11% on the rest of the league

No it is not a gap of 11% on the rest of the league. It is a gap of 11% on the average of all the other teams, including some which are a lot better and hopefully some which are worse than us. Without knowing the actual distribution of the UPs for each team, this tells us nothing other than we are below average. Which is not surprising news.

No it is not a gap of 11% on the rest of the league. It is a gap of 11% on the average of all the other teams, including some which are a lot better and hopefully some which are worse than us. Without knowing the actual distribution of the UPs for each team, this tells us nothing other than we are below average. Which is not surprising news.

We are the 2nd worst in the league for UPs (195 with GC at 184) - the one rider to that is that when teams play us they don't get much more than us; our opponents average 207 which is 13 below median for the league.

Inside 50s are up 3 a game but still last and 7 below median in the league.

I honestly think looking solely at stats and even 'wins' this season as a means of determining whether or not we've improved as a team based on what we've seen of our side this year is pretty silly.

Every season is different. Draws are different. Lineups are different. Form. Etc.

I think it's safe to say that we've improved in some areas. And we haven't in others.

But overall, the most worrying sign for me is the fact that we haven't improved those periods of play in which we completely drop off in both effort and skill.

No side within the AFL does that so often and it's what makes the incremental improvement in other areas look less significant.

RPFC may argue until the cows come home that it's our midfield that is the problem when it comes to UP differentials etc and I'm sure he'd say that it's our weakest link.

I think it's a good combination of lack of skill level across the board, midfield, backline, attitude, leadership and depth of list.

It has to be a number of factors that contribute to the undeniably embarrassing drop offs the AFL world see in all areas of our game during quarters/halves and even full matches.

Edited July 15, 201510 yr by stevethemanjordan

With the cows still nowhere in sight - I have never said it was our only problem, only the one that has the most effect on our fortunes game to game. the correlation between UPs and winning are, I believe, undeniable, and the fact that we are still 2nd worst in the league is dampening our improvement. UPs are players getting the ball in space and spread - and we don't have enough of that - and, lo and behold, the area where players are expected to do that spreading into space is the midfield.

I know you are fond of the attitude issue that we must rid ourselves of but I am sorry to disappoint you - I don't reject that as an issue - I just feel that the lack of talent in our midfield is our main problem. Oddly enough that touches on skill level, leadership, and depth et al.

We are the 2nd worst in the league for UPs (195 with GC at 184) - the one rider to that is that when teams play us they don't get much more than us; our opponents average 207 which is 13 below median for the league.

Inside 50s are up 3 a game but still last and 7 below median in the league.

That's not surprising being so one-paced in the midfield and our players failing to spread and gut-run hard enough to get into positions to receive UPs.