2018 Rd 13: Pre Game Pressure: Carlton vs Fremantle at Etihad

[crashlander]

Next weekend the Blues play Freo at Etihad with the potential to have a player or two back. More coming back in the next few weeks.
Alas, I will not be attending> I'll be taking my younger daughter for a Dance Eisteddfod at Kyabram. No way I can get down in time.

Freo will probably have Sandilands and Fyffe back. Kreuzer often struggled against Sandilands. I'd be playing another ruck, but that doesn't tend to suit our selection criteria. 

[laj]

Next weekend the Blues play Freo at Etihad with the potential to have a player or two back. More coming back in the next few weeks.
Alas, I will not be attending> I'll be taking my younger daughter for a Dance Eisteddfod at Kyabram. No way I can get down in time.

Freo will probably have Sandilands and Fyffe back. Kreuzer often struggled against Sandilands. I'd be playing another ruck, but that doesn't tend to suit our selection criteria.

No point as we'll lose nearly every tapout anyway. Pick a runner and rover to the opposition. Many a side's been smashed in the tapouts and won the clearances. Happens on a weekly basis in quite a few games.

[DJC]

No point as we'll lose nearly every tapout anyway. Pick a runner and rover to the opposition. Many a side's been smashed in the tapouts and won the clearances. Happens on a weekly basis in quite a few games.

While I tend to agree, wasn’t winning the ruck one of the five key stats required to win games?

I’d like to see Kreuzer focus on making Sandilands work hard, both in ruck contests and, more importantly, around the ground.  Sandilands won’t run with Kreuzer and Kreuzer should exploit that.

[LP]

While I tend to agree, wasn’t winning the ruck one of the five key stats required to win games?

I’d like to see Kreuzer focus on making Sandilands work hard, both in ruck contests and, more importantly, around the ground.  Sandilands won’t run with Kreuzer and Kreuzer should exploit that.

Winning hitouts is as pointless as recruiting Warnock!

Kreuzer is currently ranked 6th in the AFL ruck ratings, despite missing games with injury, and rarely doing better than a break even in the taps to advantage! In the other 80% of ruck work he is excellent!

Dockers have won the hitouts in all but two games this season, against Norp and Collingwood(No Sandilands) they were beaten in hitouts to advantage, but Freo lost 7 games out of 11 games! Even with Fyfe back to nearly career best form! That is because taps are worthless if your ruck doesn't follow them up with shepherds, tackles, clearances and linked possessions.

When Sandilands taps these days that is almost the end of his participation in the game, he does not recover well, and rarely makes it to the fall of the ball in time to give assistance to his mid-fielders. It's not his tap work that has diminished, it's his 2nd or 3rd efforts that have almost evaporated!

Levi Casboult please take note, although I concede you have been better in 2018. If only you would learn to do something instantly when your feet return to the ground!

[laj]

While I tend to agree, wasn’t winning the ruck one of the five key stats required to win games?

I’d like to see Kreuzer focus on making Sandilands work hard, both in ruck contests and, more importantly, around the ground.  Sandilands won’t run with Kreuzer and Kreuzer should exploit that.

Wouldn't have thought so these days, but winning clearances helps. Many sides win those while getting smashed in the tapouts.

Anyway, I agree with what you say.

[kruddler]

Hitouts is a useless stat.

Hitouts to advantage is where its at.

Thing with Sandilands is, he gets more hitouts to advantage than anyone else....and not simply because he gets more hitouts overall. Basically his conversion of a hitout into a hitout to advantage is probably the best going around. (At least it was a couple years ago when figures were published)

[DJC]

Winning hitouts is as pointless as recruiting Warnock!

Kreuzer is currently ranked 6th in the AFL ruck ratings, despite missing games with injury, and rarely doing better than a break even in the taps to advantage! In the other 80% of ruck work he is excellent!

Dockers have won the hitouts in all but two games this season, against Norp and Collingwood(No Sandilands) they were beaten in hitouts to advantage, but Freo lost 7 games out of 11 games! Even with Fyfe back to nearly career best form! That is because taps are worthless if your ruck doesn't follow them up with shepherds, tackles, clearances and linked possessions.

When Sandilands taps these days that is almost the end of his participation in the game, he does not recover well, and rarely makes it to the fall of the ball in time to give assistance to his mid-fielders. It's not his tap work that has diminished, it's his 2nd or 3rd efforts that have almost evaporated!

Levi Casboult please take note, although I concede you have been better in 2018. If only you would learn to do something instantly when your feet return to the ground!

Winning hitouts is one of SIX key stats;

Three other statistics are more important to team success this year compared to last.

Hit-outs (the ruck revolution), shot-at-goal accuracy (amid 50-year lows in scoring) and handball metres gained (the Tiger effect) have all rocketed in statistical influence on victories.

The club with more hit-outs wins 57.3 per cent of the time in 2018 (43.7 per cent in 2017), better shot-at-goal accuracy is 72.6 (up from 60.3), and extra handball metres gained is 57.1 (44.4).

The first three are contested possessions (65.6 per cent success rate), disposal efficiency (69 per cent) and pressure factor (62.2 per cent).

[crashlander]

Hitouts is a useless stat.

Hitouts to advantage is where its at.

Thing with Sandilands is, he gets more hitouts to advantage than anyone else....and not simply because he gets more hitouts overall. Basically his conversion of a hitout into a hitout to advantage is probably the best going around. (At least it was a couple years ago when figures were published)

And that is what usually kills us.

[laj]

And that is what usually kills us.

Not so much, we aren't bad with the clearances. Won them 5 times, lost them 4, twice by one, other two level. Against Essendon we got smashed in the hitouts but comfortably won the clearance count.

[kruddler]

To show you how useless the hitout stat is have a look at this.

Team A: 76 hitouts.
Team B: 29 hitouts

Team A: 36 clearances
Team B: 54 clearances

Team A: 4.2.26
Team B: 20.14.134

Team A: Gold Coast
Team B: GWS.