The rise.... and RISE of Marc Pittonet

[kruddler]

The studies I quoted show that hitouts, let alone hitouts to advantage, are an incredibly small part of all of the actions that make up a game of footy.  They have next to no relationship to the outcome of games and are, effectively, a useless statistic as Lods has been saying.

The PhD study recognises that hitouts to advantage are a shared statistic and proposes that rating points go to the midfielder who gathers a hitout and negative points for a ruckman whose hitout is sharked.  While that would reflect the contribution the ruckman and midfielder make, it's still a largely inconsequential rating factor in terms of the results of the game.

A ruckman who dominates the hitouts, be they to advantage or to the opposition, and does nothing else, is a passenger.  I'm not saying that Pitto is a passenger, far from it, but it would be nice if he could provide a genuine marking target for our exit kicks and drift forward every now and again to clunk a mark inside 50.

Again, all of this backs up the '1 ruckman is all that is required' barrow i've been pushing for just as long as the Pitto stats.

I've never suggested that its winning you games.
I've never suggested that its an uber important stat.
I have suggested that when compared to every other ruckmen, especially our own, Pittonets ability in that area is elite.
The debate about it being a 'shared stat' is something i've talked about numerous times. The relative HTA stats of Pittonet vs TDK when rucking to the same midfield show that Pittonet is 1.5-2 times more effective on average with his ruck work. The difference between elite and average/below average which is where TDK is.

How much influence that has on the game, can be debated....but honestly, not a rabbit hole i want to go down because i've seen how difficult it is to get basic stats across, no chance i'm going to debate the more complex overall influence on the overall game.

As i've stated, Pittonet needs to improve his work around the ground. Said that from day 1 and have not waivered from that.
TDK also needs to improve in that area, but is ahead in that area. Again, never suggested otherwise.

Again, this is designed to give Pittonet some credit for what he has been quietly achieving. Its turned in to an extensive 3 year debate in which people have largely missed the point.

Pitto is maximising his ability IMO
TDK is going at about half rat power based on his potential and is about on a par in terms of overall influence on a game (less ruck, more around the ground) and that is why its a frustrating debate. TDK should be able to make the #1 ruck role his own if he was able to unlock some of this potential he has....but he is taking baby steps.
For the record, Pitto was the age TDK is now when this debate started.