lozza63
All Australian
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DaVe - always top draw mate
So to my 2cents.
It is said that stats do not always tell the whole story, they may twisted, misinterpreted and the like. This may be true but 700+ touches tells us Swan is a superstar. Stats to me indicate where a team is superior or lacking.
As Dave indicated we have greater spread of goal kicking options - 13 of our boys have slotted over 13 goals per game - Didak, Cloke, Dawes, Davis, Beams, Swan, Sidebottom, Jolly, Brown, Pendlebury, Thomas, Macaffer and Wellas.
St. Kilda in comparison have 7 players - Milne, Schneider, Riewoldt, Kosi, Goddard, Montagna & Dal Santo.
To me clearances are not the be all and end all as that disposal may fall in enemy hands, more interesting are the contested possessions contributors.
Collingwood have 17 players with 100 CPs(avg min of 4.5+) or more - St. Kilda have 13 players with similar output.
My next Key Indicator is the tackle count -
Collingwood and St. Kilda are equal with 11 players from either side laying 60+ tackles (avg 2.7 per game). The interesting stat here is that a further 5 pies have layed 50 or more in contrast to 0 saints with 50 or more (Milne on 49 is closest as Mcevoy was omitted).
The Saints love racking up marks, the interesting stat for me are the contested ones. The pies have 15 players with 10 or more CMs vs 11 saints with 10 or more.
It would appear that Collingwood have more players contributing to an outcome than Saints over the course of the season. This does not necessarily mean that we will prevail as we have a completely new set of challenges before us tomorrow.
What I do think is that our team has fully embraced, in fact owns the game plan and strategies as set out by MM, the coaches and more importantly each other. These stats indicate to me that Collingwood work as a team, whereas the Saints rely more on individuals to shine. The funny thing here is that we have learnt and adopted much of what is known as Saints footy in relation to pressure and defensive capabilities. We have then added our own touch of defending higher up the field in order to quickly turn defence into scoring opportunities. This coupled with our high rotation has us well placed to challenge the Saints for the premiership with confidence. We are probably more blessed with pace than our Saint counterparts - read here Toooves, Swan, Neon, Thomas, HarryO, Heater, Wellas & Johnno. Saints quicker players include Montagna, Roo, Peake, Dempster, Schneider and Milne.
That is not to say that the Saints are not without a real show, they have been a quality outfit for 2/3 years and boast many stars. Previously they have been too physically strong for us in finals also. With the addition of Jolly, improvement from Brown, Cloke and Dawes we hold the physical aces also. The most exciting intangible for me is the chance of further improvement from our 8 younger(22 or less) players - I dont subscribe to these kids led by Pendles to be overawed in the slightest.
So in summation we are stronger, younger, quicker, with a more even spread of contributors across each team - yep that's right!
I fully expect a quick start from our boys tomorrow and the likely winner could well be decided as early as 1/4 time - I believe that we can provide enough scoring chances to steal the march on the Saints as we have done against WB and Geelong!
GO PIES WE BELIEVE!
So to my 2cents.
It is said that stats do not always tell the whole story, they may twisted, misinterpreted and the like. This may be true but 700+ touches tells us Swan is a superstar. Stats to me indicate where a team is superior or lacking.
As Dave indicated we have greater spread of goal kicking options - 13 of our boys have slotted over 13 goals per game - Didak, Cloke, Dawes, Davis, Beams, Swan, Sidebottom, Jolly, Brown, Pendlebury, Thomas, Macaffer and Wellas.
St. Kilda in comparison have 7 players - Milne, Schneider, Riewoldt, Kosi, Goddard, Montagna & Dal Santo.
To me clearances are not the be all and end all as that disposal may fall in enemy hands, more interesting are the contested possessions contributors.
Collingwood have 17 players with 100 CPs(avg min of 4.5+) or more - St. Kilda have 13 players with similar output.
My next Key Indicator is the tackle count -
Collingwood and St. Kilda are equal with 11 players from either side laying 60+ tackles (avg 2.7 per game). The interesting stat here is that a further 5 pies have layed 50 or more in contrast to 0 saints with 50 or more (Milne on 49 is closest as Mcevoy was omitted).
The Saints love racking up marks, the interesting stat for me are the contested ones. The pies have 15 players with 10 or more CMs vs 11 saints with 10 or more.
It would appear that Collingwood have more players contributing to an outcome than Saints over the course of the season. This does not necessarily mean that we will prevail as we have a completely new set of challenges before us tomorrow.
What I do think is that our team has fully embraced, in fact owns the game plan and strategies as set out by MM, the coaches and more importantly each other. These stats indicate to me that Collingwood work as a team, whereas the Saints rely more on individuals to shine. The funny thing here is that we have learnt and adopted much of what is known as Saints footy in relation to pressure and defensive capabilities. We have then added our own touch of defending higher up the field in order to quickly turn defence into scoring opportunities. This coupled with our high rotation has us well placed to challenge the Saints for the premiership with confidence. We are probably more blessed with pace than our Saint counterparts - read here Toooves, Swan, Neon, Thomas, HarryO, Heater, Wellas & Johnno. Saints quicker players include Montagna, Roo, Peake, Dempster, Schneider and Milne.
That is not to say that the Saints are not without a real show, they have been a quality outfit for 2/3 years and boast many stars. Previously they have been too physically strong for us in finals also. With the addition of Jolly, improvement from Brown, Cloke and Dawes we hold the physical aces also. The most exciting intangible for me is the chance of further improvement from our 8 younger(22 or less) players - I dont subscribe to these kids led by Pendles to be overawed in the slightest.
So in summation we are stronger, younger, quicker, with a more even spread of contributors across each team - yep that's right!
I fully expect a quick start from our boys tomorrow and the likely winner could well be decided as early as 1/4 time - I believe that we can provide enough scoring chances to steal the march on the Saints as we have done against WB and Geelong!
GO PIES WE BELIEVE!
