Stats Files - 2021

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Rnd 1, 2021 MCG - Demons vs Dockers

Back to the G and our first first round win since St Kilda at Etihad in 2017.  Will certainly take that.

Clarry back to somewhere near his usual standard after quarter time in his 100th.  Statistically on top yet again.   Some over use by hand IMHO vs the more effective "burst from congestion then share" style i would like to see but he did max out what few clearances we had (again) with 7.

May & Lever the red wall down back and little Charlie bobs up in the top 4!  Ed busting another gut on his wing coming in 5th.  Nice game from T-Mac who i feared the game may have passed by based on last season but movement and finish seemed to be back somewhat.

Much room for improvement, however the first round often sees a number of rusty entrees!  Hibb & Viney the likely must ins this week if fit, possibly for Sparrow and Rivers or Hunt, but who knows.

Player	Score	Rank
Clayton Oliver	5.775	1
Steven May	4.175	2
Jake Lever	3.925	3
Charlie Spargo	3.825	4
Ed Langdon	3.550	5
Christian Petracca	3.325	6
Adam Tomlinson	3.025	7
Nathan Jones	2.975	8
Christian Salem	2.550	9
Bayley Fritsch	2.450	10
Angus Brayshaw	2.425	11
Tom Sparrow	2.375	12
Jayden Hunt	2.175	13
Neville Jetta	2.175	13
Tom McDonald #	2.050	15
James Jordan	2.000	16
Kysaiah Pickett	1.975	17
James Harmes	1.850	18
Max Gawn #	1.800	19
Luke Jackson #	1.550	20
Alex N-Bullen	1.525	21
Trent Rivers	0.950	22
Team Score	58.43
Top 6	24.58
Bottom 6	9.65

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

Edited March 21, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Fritta and Turner 4,539]

Any numbers on how many pies were eaten?  I've been advised they were really good....

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

Well done Rusty, good thread....will be interesting to watch.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

1 hour ago, Wadda We Sing said:

Well done Rusty, good thread....will be interesting to watch.

Thanks WWS.  Looking forward to a more normal season vs 2020.  Hopefully an abnormal one for us in an upward trajectory sense!

[MurDoc516 1,529]

Rivers had a shocker but he's got credit in the bank. Usually he is clean and tidy and that was gone, that speaks to rustiness and the conditions then a players overrall ability. 

Harmes and Hunt are the big winners on that list, both were bottom 3 with Rivers on the day.

ANB also unlucky.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

19 minutes ago, MurDoc516 said:

Rivers had a shocker but he's got credit in the bank. Usually he is clean and tidy and that was gone, that speaks to rustiness and the conditions then a players overrall ability. 

Harmes and Hunt are the big winners on that list, both were bottom 3 with Rivers on the day.

ANB also unlucky.

Yes the ratings certainly aren't always a true reflection of match day performance 516  or who was BOG/spud of the day etc.

Particulary when it comes to playing out the role required or asked by the coaches.  Also the quality of the opponent isn't taken into account.

Niggles and game day injuries might also be missed.  The list goes on.

So many real life variables.  We also need to see a body of work over over at least 5 to 6 matches imv before using weighted average comparatives.  Also need to compare like with like in terms of where they are playing/role being asked during a match.

By no means a perfect science or a pure reflection of what happened in game.  Just a bit of a rough analysis in a general sense to go along with what we observed on the day.  As i say each year, watching the match is always the best indicator.  The stats are however, a bit of a summary or rough guide as to how each player might have faired on the day, whilst also taking in the live game day factors above, among many other variables not mentioned or covered.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Rnd 1, 2021 MCG - (Demons vs Dockers) vs Season 2019

A bit of a cheap shot showing one match in isolation vs season 2019 but i don't see why we can't throw it out there.  I have used season 2019 as IMO i feel it more closely resembles the current season with reversion back to the old game times vs 2020's short quarter covid variant.

Obviously there's been a number of list changes and new inclusions since 2019 so for some players there is no 2019 reference point.  Interesting to note the team score was still slightly below that of our very ordinary 2019 result.  Hopefully just a rusty first up start with significant upside to come.

Apologies for the negative numbers not being in red but it would appear the site now no longer allows me to change colour of text or center either.

Player	2021 Score	2021 Rank	Season 2019 Weighted Score	% Change vs 2019	2019 Rank	Change in Rank vs 2019
Clayton Oliver	5.775	1	4.880	18.34	1	0
Steven May	4.175	2	2.618	59.47	14	12
Jake Lever	3.925	3	2.519	55.82	16	13
Charlie Spargo	3.825	4	1.513	152.81	35	31
Ed Langdon	3.550	5
C Petracca	3.325	6	2.843	16.95	9	3
Adam Tomlinson	3.025	7
Nathan Jones	2.975	8	2.907	2.34	7	-1
Christian Salem	2.550	9	3.658	-30.29	3	-6
Bayley Fritsch	2.450	10	2.809	-12.78	10	0
Angus Brayshaw	2.425	11	3.131	-22.55	6	-5
Tom Sparrow	2.375	12	1.275	86.27	37	24
Neville Jetta	2.175	13	2.264	-3.93	18	5
Jayden Hunt	2.175	13	2.092	3.97	23	10
Tom McDonald #	2.050	15	2.297	-10.75	20	5
James Jordan	2.000	16
Kysaiah Pickett	1.975	17
James Harmes	1.850	18	4.039	-54.20	2	-17
Max Gawn #	1.800	19	3.437	-47.63	4	-15
Luke Jackson #	1.550	20
Alex N-Bullen	1.525	21	2.120	-28.07	22	1
Trent Rivers	0.950	22
Average Team Score -Top 22	58.43		59.62	-2.01
# Hit outs to advantage not captured

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

Edited March 23, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Whispering_Jack 30,674]

Are these stats adjusted to allow for %age time on the ground? 

[In Harmes Way 7,823]

I’d have to agree with Salem’s slippage in the rankings from 2019 as shown above. Too many 10m chipped kicks these days for my liking.

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

On 3/23/2021 at 9:12 PM, In Harmes Way said:

I’d have to agree with Salem’s slippage in the rankings from 2019 as shown above. Too many 10m chipped kicks these days for my liking.

 

He was brilliant last night.  Thats what hes capable of and needs to do it more.

Now back to the stats

Clayton Oliver 72 disposals in the first two rounds of the season must be a Melbourne record

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

Another stat  -

Petracca 30 disposals vs the Saints, the first 30 disposal game of his career

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

On 3/23/2021 at 8:57 PM, Whispering_Jack said:

Are these stats adjusted to allow for %age time on the ground? 

Good question Jack.  I could do so but havent so far.

I'm not sure that would be wise though.

For example, let"s say a sub comes on and plays only 60% game time but has a blinder and kicks 5 goals in that shortened time.  Do we only count 60% of those and only 3 goals go towards his weighted comparative score vs say another forward who spent 100% TOG (unlikely but just hypothecating) but also kicked three?

Say the sub miraculously won us the match playing that blinder but as a result gets a similar (reduced vs no TOG adjustment) weighted score as a result?  Many other factors go in to the score so highly unlikely they both have same weighted score but what if?

Edited March 28, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Rnd 2, 2021 Marvel - Saints vs Demons

Player	Score	Rank
Clayton Oliver	5.200	1
Christian Salem	4.775	2
Steven May	4.150	3
Alex N-Bullen	4.025	4
Ed Langdon	3.925	5
C Petracca	3.825	6
Adam Tomlinson	3.625	7
Nathan Jones	3.225	8
Trent Rivers	3.225	9
Max Gawn #	3.200	10
Kysaiah Pickett	3.200	11
Jayden Hunt	3.150	12
Jack Viney	3.050	13
James Jordan	2.650	14
Charlie Spargo	2.500	15
Tom McDonald #	2.500	16
Neville Jetta	2.325	17
Angus Brayshaw	2.050	18
Tom Sparrow	1.950	19
Jake Lever	1.875	20
Bayley Fritsch	1.600	21
Luke Jackson #	1.050	22
Team Score	67.08
Top 6	25.90
Bottom 6	10.85

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

[58er 6,565]

6 hours ago, Pickett2Jackson said:

 

He was brilliant last night.  Thats what hes capable of and needs to do it more.

Now back to the stats

Clayton Oliver 72 disposals in the first two rounds of the season must be a Melbourne record

And some  demented fans say we wouldn't miss him, OR  he doesn't impact ( enough) AND/OR he doesn't win us games!!!'

Really he does all three and yes he can still improve his quality but boy last night was a big big statement On a big stage.

He and Trac  showed That they are A graders ( Steele matched them sort of ) and are well ahead of the Saints genuine  mids not small forwards and are getting great support from our lesser lights eg Viney Jordan Sparrow ANB and Kossie.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Weighted Average Scores up to & including Rnd 2 , 2021 vs 2019

Very early days, a long way to go and not a great sample size but the average team score of the top 22 players is already up 13% on the 2019 team average and only 3% below the 2018 season average of 69.53

Kozzie going ok! ?

Player	2021 Weighted Score	2021 Rank	2019 Weighted Score	% Change vs 2019	2019 Rank	Change in Rank vs 2019
Clayton Oliver	5.838	1	4.643	25.74	1	0
Steven May	4.338	2	2.446	77.35	14	12
Christian Salem	3.888	3	3.658	6.29	3	0
Ed Langdon	3.863	4
C Petracca	3.825	5	2.616	46.22	10	5
Adam Tomlinson	3.375	6
Charlie Spargo	3.188	7	1.375	131.85	35	28
Nathan Jones	3.150	8	2.711	16.19	7	-1
Jack Viney *	3.150	8	3.068	2.67	5	-3
Jake Lever	3.050	10	2.313	31.86	17	7
Alex N-Bullen	2.975	11	1.984	49.95	21	10
Jayden Hunt	2.788	12	1.958	42.39	22	10
Max Gawn #	2.750	13	3.256	-15.54	4	-9
Kysaiah Pickett	2.738	14
Tom McDonald #	2.550	15	2.150	18.60	19	4
James Jordan	2.525	16
Angus Brayshaw	2.388	17	2.894	-17.48	6	-11
Tom Sparrow	2.288	18	1.075	112.84	37	19
Trent Rivers	2.288	18
Neville Jetta	2.250	20	2.264	-0.62	18	-2
James Harmes *	2.150	21	3.850	-44.16	2	-19
Bayley Fritsch	2.075	22	2.641	-21.43	9	-13
Luke Jackson #	1.425	23
Average Team Score - Top 22	67.43		59.62	13.09

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

* Only played one match not an average score

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

Edited March 28, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Rnd 3, 2021 Manuka Oval - Giants vs Demons

Player	Score	Rank
Max Gawn #	5.300	1
Jake Lever	5.150	2
Christian Salem	4.650	3
Ed Langdon	4.575	4
Steven May	4.200	5
Angus Brayshaw	3.950	6
C Petracca	3.850	7
Kysaiah Pickett	3.650	8
Jack Viney	3.625	9
Clayton Oliver	3.550	10
Jayden Hunt	3.400	11
Trent Rivers	2.975	12
Luke Jackson #	2.725	13
James Jordan	2.575	14
Bayley Fritsch	2.450	15
Nathan Jones	2.250	16
Charlie Spargo	2.150	17
A Tomlinson	2.150	17
Tom Sparrow	1.750	19
Neville Jetta	1.625	20
Tom McDonald #	1.425	21
Alex N-Bullen	1.075	22
Team Score	69.05
Top 6	27.83
Bottom 6	10.18

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

Edited April 4, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Weighted Average Scores up to & including Rnd 3 , 2021 vs 2019

Player	2021 Weighted Score	2021 Rank	2019 Weighted Score	% Change vs 2019	2019 Rank	Change in Rank vs 2019
Clayton Oliver	5.075	1	4.643	9.30	1	0
Steven May	4.292	2	2.446	75.47	14	12
C Salem	4.142	3	3.658	13.23	3	0
Ed Langdon	4.100	4
C Petracca	3.833	5	2.616	46.52	10	5
Jake Lever	3.750	6	2.313	62.13	17	11
Max Gawn #	3.600	7	3.256	10.57	4	-3
Jack Viney	3.388	8	3.068	10.43	5	-3
Kysaiah Pickett	3.042	9
Jayden Hunt	2.992	10	1.958	52.81	22	12
A Tomlinson	2.967	11
A Brayshaw	2.908	12	2.894	0.48	6	-6
Nathan Jones	2.850	13	2.711	5.13	7	-6
Charlie Spargo	2.842	14	1.375	106.69	35	21
James Jordan	2.542	15
Trent Rivers	2.517	16
Alex N-Bullen	2.342	17	1.984	18.04	21	4
Bayley Fritsch	2.200	18	2.641	-16.70	9	-9
T McDonald #	2.175	19	2.150	1.16	19	0
James Harmes *	2.150	20	3.850	-44.16	2	-18
Tom Sparrow	2.108	21	1.075	96.09	37	16
Neville Jetta	2.042	22	2.264	-9.81	18	-4
Luke Jackson #	1.858	23
Average Team Score - Top 22	67.86		59.62	13.81

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

* Only played one match not an average score

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

[CHF 2,768]

I was looking through our player stats for the first 3 rounds on the AFL site and found some interesting bits and pieces.

The top 6 for disposal efficiency on the team are all defenders. Of the recognised defenders only Hunt is not there at #12.

For total effective kick numbers 5 of the top 6 are defenders with Hunt at 9 and Jetta at 20 

Kick effectiveness has 6 of the top 7 places for defenders.

In all a good picture being put together by the defenders.

A couple of other things caught my eye.

pressure acts - Jordon #3, Sparrow #4 and NB #5 in the team to date with Kossie and Spargo #7&8

Tackle numbers - Jordon #1 - Sparrow #4 - Jetta #22.

 

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Rnd 4, 2021 Manuka Oval - Demons vs Cats

O'Conner was no match for Clarry today who still managed to shine under a full lockdown attempt.  Lets look at some of his numbers.... 23 Effective disposals, 6 clearances, 3 rebounds, 9 inside 50s, 6 tackles (two of those inside 50), 10 score involvements, 3 intercepts and 474 meters gained.  If Clarry could learn to hit the scoreboard once or twice (or occasionally higher) every other match or so he would be a bona fide AFL champ.

Some other great results...

Tracc was outstanding in many aspects with 22 effective disposals, 9 clearances, 8 inside 50s, 10 score involvements, 2 goals and lead the meters gained for us with 657 only bettered by Isaac Smith with 658.  Not bad for an old fella eh.  Tracc's only downside was a hefty turnover count of 8 .  A pretty bad day is usually around 6 or more imho.

Lever played an amazing rock/intercept role down back with 11 intercepts, 10 one percenters, 5 rebounds, 5 tackles, 4 score involvements and only 1 turnover.  His decision making was first class and he got to so many contests i would say the best match i've witnessed live from him so far.

Viney and Gawn were in everything.  Viney with a massive 8 clearances, 5 inside 50s, 12 tackles (most for the day for both teams and the only player to hit double figures here including two inside 50), 2 intercepts and 354 meters gained.

The big man....12 effectives, 7 clearances, 4 rebounds, 4 inside 50s, 4 tackles, 5 score involvements, 6 intercepts, 449 meters gained and a goal.  Turnovers not so good however, with 6.   

Salem superb as the floater across HB with 11 intercepts, 2 contested marks, 8 rebounds and a massive 562 meters gained.

Gus, Hunt and Ed were also very solid.  One or two mucks along the way to be expected under such ugly conditions and pressure.  Looking at Hunt he had 7 intercepts, 5 tackles, 4 score involvements and three inside 50s.

Shout out also to LJ who i thought played a very serviceable game given the few he has under his belt.  His tank / consistency seems to be growing slowly with each match. 

Tables show 10 players hitting a weighted score of 3 or higher, which is about 5 to 6 more players than most weeks last season.  A score of 3 often, but not always, appearing to represent a good solid serviceable game usually with a few turnovers thrown in for good measure depending on the position played / role being asked on the day.  For dedicated forwards something around the 2.25 is about par, given they usually have less opportunities to get their hands on it.

Player	Score	Rank
Clayton Oliver	6.125	1
C Petracca	4.650	2
Jake Lever	4.625	3
Jack Viney	4.175	4
Max Gawn #	4.150	5
Christian Salem	3.900	6
Angus Brayshaw	3.525	7
Bayley Fritsch	3.400	8
Jayden Hunt	3.225	9
Ed Langdon	3.050	10
Kysaiah Pickett	2.875	11
Charlie Spargo	2.850	12
Alex N-Bullen	2.250	13
Tom McDonald #	2.250	13
Luke Jackson #	2.050	15
Jake Melksham	1.700	16
Nathan Jones	1.525	17
Tom Sparrow	1.500	18
Neville Jetta	1.425	19
James Jordan	1.200	20
A Tomlinson	1.175	21
Trent Rivers	1.025	22
Steven May	0.125	23
Team Score	62.65
Top 6	27.63
Bottom 6	7.85

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

Edited April 11, 2021 by Rusty Nails

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Weighted Average Scores up to & including Rnd 4 , 2021 vs 2019

Tracc & Big M moving up a few rungs after their performances on the weekend.  Still a fair amount of daylight between Clarry and the rest after another solid game.  Salem holding his own (just) in 2nd place after another sublime game.  Lever jumps one place into 5th after one of his best performances since joining and Hunt on the improve into the top 10.  The Cats are the real deal and no push over at any time.  Impressive win yesterday.  Time to turn our mind to the Hawks with our wily foe Clarko at the helm no doubt looking to serve up something different.

Player	2021 WeightedScore	2021 Rank	2019 Weighted Score	% Change vs 2019	2019 Rank	Change in Rank vs 2019
Clayton Oliver	5.338	1	4.643	14.97	1	0
C Salem	4.081	2	3.658	11.56	3	1
C Petracca	4.038	3	2.616	54.36	10	7
Steven May	4.000	4	2.446	63.53	14	10
Jake Lever	3.969	5	2.313	71.60	17	12
Ed Langdon	3.838	6
Max Gawn #	3.738	7	3.256	14.80	4	-3
Jack Viney	3.650	8	3.068	18.97	5	-3
A Brayshaw	3.063	9	2.894	5.84	6	-3
Jayden Hunt	3.050	10	1.958	55.77	22	12
Kysaiah Pickett	3.000	11
Charlie Spargo	2.844	12	1.375	106.84	35	23
A Tomlinson	2.519	13
Nathan Jones	2.519	13	2.711	-7.08	7	-6
Bayley Fritsch	2.500	15	2.641	-5.34	9	-6
Alex N-Bullen	2.319	16	1.984	16.89	21	5
James Jordan	2.206	17
T McDonald #	2.194	18	2.150	2.05	19	1
James Harmes *	2.150	19	3.850	-44.16	2	-17
Trent Rivers	2.144	20
Tom Sparrow	2.087	21	1.075	94.14	37	16
Luke Jackson #	1.906	22
Neville Jetta	1.888	23	2.264	-16.61	18	-5
J Melksham *	1.700	24	1.931	-11.96	23	-1
Average Team Score - Top 22	67.15		59.62	12.63

# Hit outs to advantage not captured

* Only played one match not an average score

Stats courtesy of footywire.com

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Interesting article here from Montagna.  Unfortunately no mention of where we sit.  Not sure why they wouldn't mention where all clubs are ranked...

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-news-2021-afl-trends-statistics-leigh-montagna-kicks-inside-50-sydney-swans-errol-gulden/news-story/3210392132c37aed98d6ad0f9e1a8fd8

[buck_nekkid 6,046]

Thanks for your sterling work, Rusty.  Once again the numbers can deepen our understanding of what we witnessed.  I’m loving the pressure acts, the two way running and the way the players are staying in contests so much better/longer.  Hard to have stats on these things, but they are making a significant difference to the results and our ‘brand’.  Clarry has stepped up massively this year= not just pinging the first handball, but creating a valuable exit and chain more often than not.

appreciate your efforts.

[Little Goffy 14,644]

I've been enjoying picking over some individual curiosity stats that often don't mean much but which can be amusing.

First up, we have two players in the top-10 of disposals per game - Oliver of course, at third and only a whisker behind Mitchell and Macrae, and then Petracca at 8th.  Both also feature in clearances, with Oliver slipping slightly to ninth, Petracca in 23rd and Viney in 15th giving us three inside the top 25.

Viney is back to his hunter-killer ways with more than 8 tackles a game putting him at 4th on average and thanks to a quick. James Jordan also in 4th place for tackles among rising star eligible players.  Pretty sure 'JJ' is also 'Junior Junior'.

Petracca is equal 4th for inside 50s, just ahead of Martin, which is nice.

No surprise, Gawn is second to Grundy for total hitouts but is better than Grundy on every other conceivable measure.

Bayley Fritsch still sits in second for marks inside 50, equal with Tom Hawkins.  Strangely, I think it has been a different player in first every week.

But the stat of 2021 for the Demons is still tackles inside 50, with an incredible SIX players ranked inside the top 25, plus Fritta correcting one of his deficiencies and coming in at 38th.

Tom McDonald in 4th, Kysaiah Pickett in equal 5th, Charlie Spargo in equal 15th, Jack Viney in equal 21st, James Jordan and Alex Neal-Bullen both in equal 24th.

[Grimes Times 1,278]

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/26301884/listen-espn-footy-podcast

As per above how WB, Syd and Melbourne rank.

Points from Turnover Differential. (last 15 premiers top 6)

1.Syd +131

2.WB +106

3.Melb +98

4.GCS +40

Contested Possession Differential

1.WB

2.Syd

3.Port

4. Melb

Uncontested Possession Differential

1. Syd

3.WB

6. Melb

Applying Pressure.

1. Melb

2. Syd

3. WB

 

We are applying pressure, causing the turnover and scoring from the turnover. Winning it at the source and on the spread.

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

4 hours ago, buck_nekkid said:

Thanks for your sterling work, Rusty.  Once again the numbers can deepen our understanding of what we witnessed.  I’m loving the pressure acts, the two way running and the way the players are staying in contests so much better/longer.  Hard to have stats on these things, but they are making a significant difference to the results and our ‘brand’.  Clarry has stepped up massively this year= not just pinging the first handball, but creating a valuable exit and chain more often than not.

appreciate your efforts.

A labor of love thanks Buck

Is alot of what you mention the upside of the Burgess factor coming to the fore?  Certainly in these games up to our neck aren't we.  Let's hope that continues.

3 hours ago, Little Goffy said:

I've been enjoying picking over some individual curiosity stats that often don't mean much but which can be amusing.

First up, we have two players in the top-10 of disposals per game - Oliver of course, at third and only a whisker behind Mitchell and Macrae, and then Petracca at 8th.  Both also feature in clearances, with Oliver slipping slightly to ninth, Petracca in 23rd and Viney in 15th giving us three inside the top 25.

Viney is back to his hunter-killer ways with more than 8 tackles a game putting him at 4th on average and thanks to a quick. James Jordan also in 4th place for tackles among rising star eligible players.  Pretty sure 'JJ' is also 'Junior Junior'.

Petracca is equal 4th for inside 50s, just ahead of Martin, which is nice.

No surprise, Gawn is second to Grundy for total hitouts but is better than Grundy on every other conceivable measure.

Bayley Fritsch still sits in second for marks inside 50, equal with Tom Hawkins.  Strangely, I think it has been a different player in first every week.

But the stat of 2021 for the Demons is still tackles inside 50, with an incredible SIX players ranked inside the top 25, plus Fritta correcting one of his deficiencies and coming in at 38th.

Tom McDonald in 4th, Kysaiah Pickett in equal 5th, Charlie Spargo in equal 15th, Jack Viney in equal 21st, James Jordan and Alex Neal-Bullen both in equal 24th.

Some lovely work LG.

Would love to know who our best are at hitting up targets coming inside 50.  Tracc No.1 at getting it inside as you have highlighted but from what i've witnessed i doubt he would be our No.1 at connecting.  If he can improve this part of his game his impact will go through the roof and we might start slaying opponents on the scoreboard occasionaly.

The other aspect of his game is decision making.  Sometimes i feel he tries to be too selfless.  Looking to thread the needle a little too often and trying the super hard pass.  When instead he might be better off going for broke inside 50 and shooting at goal, even from 40+.  He has a big hoof on him on the run. Hopefully this ability to decide when to share and when to shoot will improve with time.  If we think he's good now, his game will go up another notch if he can improve here imv.

Someone pulled out a stat yesterday on SEN that suggested that 90%+ of wins this year have been by the team winning the marks inside 50 count.  They were highlighting how important the set shot is under less pressure which makes sense.

The improvement of pressure i50 is a ripper so far.

46 minutes ago, Grimes Times said:

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/26301884/listen-espn-footy-podcast

As per above how WB, Syd and Melbourne rank.

Points from Turnover Differential. (last 15 premiers top 6)

1.Syd +131

2.WB +106

3.Melb +98

4.GCS +40

Contested Possession Differential

1.WB

2.Syd

3.Port

4. Melb

Uncontested Possession Differential

1. Syd

3.WB

6. Melb

Applying Pressure.

1. Melb

2. Syd

3. WB

 

We are applying pressure, causing the turnover and scoring from the turnover. Winning it at the source and on the spread.

I particularly like the last two here GT.  We have so often struggled with uncontested (spread issues) and we're presently sitting 3rd!

The pressure side also.  While not a new thing, i believe we were somewhere near or at the top in 2018 here, it's a fabulous sign albeit early days yet.