The Great Ruck Debate.

[LP]

Hitout stats are THE prime example.
They do not take into account in any fashion if they help or hurt the team. But they are included in any basic stat sheet and have done so for decades.

Tackle stats do not tell a complete story, but it is still a benefit to your team if you get a tackle (overall).

Much is the same for HtA, Pitto had almost his best game for the season, almost +50% on his season average.

But HtA doesn't mean much if the Dogs are deliberately surrendering the front position, and most of us have been making that point for a long long time.

Virtually all stats presented in isolation are diminished in value, presenting stats in isolation it's often just cherrypicking facts to suit a debate, in other words a deliberately introduced selection bias in the analysis, or a confirmation bias after the events.