Why is Cyril Rioli so highly rated?

[HappyChappy35]

Was rated in the top 5 of the official AFL player ratings here:

http://www.afl.com.au/stats/player-ratings/ratings-hub

Firstly, I'd like to point out to Hawthorn posters before they try and jump all over me that this isn't a troll thread simply because it's been started by a Geelong supporter. It's a genuine question I have.

Can't quite manage to put my finger on why so many footy fans (especially on BF) and those in the media rate him in their top 5/top 10. What exactly is the criteria people rate Rioli on?

I'm not discounting his skills or athleticism, which are some of the best in the competition. Just questioning why so many people think this is the be-all and end-all when it comes to rating him. His impact for large periods of games is suspect, especially when Hawthorn aren't travelling well, and bobs up quite a bit only when it's required or when the Hawks are firmly on top. In addition to this he only averages 18 touches a game, well behind most premier midfielders and top 10 players.

Just want to see why people rate him so highly, that's all. I think that people look at his skills too much and sometimes glance over his effort/output in the process. Thoughts?

 

[i_need_a_pencil]

I rate him because he is extremely effective with his possessions. He also breaks lines and is a good contested player. Put those things together and he creates play.

 

[Kram]

Commentator hype.

 

[THRILLHO]

Probably for the incredible impact he can have on games, like the North Melbourne game.

Too inconsistent to be a top 10 player, for mine. Somewhere in the 15-30 range, depending on how you want to measure players, is where he sits.

 

[Catfish Alley]

C'mon, man. Did a Geelong supporter really have to start this thread?? We're going to have about 6 pages on Selwood ducking now.

 

[HappyChappy35]

I rate him because he is extremely effective with his possessions. He also breaks lines and is a good contested player. Put those things together and he creates play.

Fair enough and I mostly agree with that, but would you have him in your top 10?

 

[Lucky Star]

Shouldn't be too hard for a Geelong supporter to work out.

 

[HappyChappy35]

Probably for the incredible impact he can have on games, like the North Melbourne game.

Too inconsistent to be a top 10 player, for mine. Somewhere in the 15-30 range, depending on how you want to measure players, is where he sits.

This is one of the things a lot of people glance over when rating Rioli. Yes, he can have a big impact when needed, but doesn't do it enough for mine to be rated as highly as he is. A lot of people overlook consistency and overall output across matches when judging players.

 

[tigs2010]

C'mon, man. Did a Geelong supporter really have to start this thread?? We're going to have about 6 pages on Selwood ducking now.

Duck duck goose.

 

[Dory_77]

I agree he doesn't have the consistency to be considered top 5/10 all the time, but he'd probably be not far off. A quarter burst can sometimes be all he needs to pull out for the Hawks to go from even with their opponents to totally on top. Realistically there wouldn't be many more than 10 players you'd pick before him if you were building a side.

 

[Oneiros]

I rag on him all the time but in all honesty, he is like a random auto-win button. Every now and again you'll come across a game you would normally lose and then bam, for five-ten minutes he does something special to turn/steal the game, then goes quiet.

That game against North Melbourne as a case in point. He came within a hair's breadth of doing the same thing last year in that water-logged early round match against the Eagles last year.

 

[HappyChappy35]

C'mon, man. Did a Geelong supporter really have to start this thread?? We're going to have about 6 pages on Selwood ducking now.

I did preface this thread by saying I'm not trolling. Hopefully Hawthorn supporters don't ignore that and address the question at hand.

Shouldn't be too hard for a Geelong supporter to work out.

How?

 

[Underdog]

Terrific player. Nowhere near top 5.

 

[Big Fozza]

here we go again

 

[Hodgepodge]

He's extremely effective for a player who has such a high percentage of his possessions contested. He's a big goal assist player. He's a goal kicker. He's probably the best tackler in the game. He can go into the middle and win a clearance. He's unselfish and also a smart player.

If it weren't for the hamstrings Rioli would be a full-time midfielder by now, so it's a shame we'll probably never see what might have been, but what we'll get is good enough anyway.

 

[Blood Bath]

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw he was 5. I think adding a 0 at the end would be a more reasonable ranking.

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

Hopefully before this turns into a shit storm.

To be ranked so high they must have valued his pressure attacks and tackling pretty highly. I was surprised to see him at 5th of 6th whatever it was. However Cyril is the best tackler in the game in my opinion. I also think that he has the best agility in the game. He is not the fastest player in the league. Players like Jetta and Yarran are faster IMO, but the way he moves is incredible. He can change direction so quickly that in the blink of an eye he is 2m clear from the congestion. Also if you ever (not often!) see him go to ground it is hilarious how easily he gets straight back up, it is like the ground is a trampoline for him.

But yes, he has the ability to break a game open. He was probably in the best form of his career until his hammy, hopefully he can come back the same. Still can be inconsistent, pretty surprised he made the top 10, but he would be in the starting line up of any team in the AFL.

 

[Papa G]

Flashes of Brilliance, but you wouldn't pick him before Franklin, Mitchell, Hodge and you'd probably question whether he is more important to the team than Gibson, Roughead or Birchall. Could probably make a case for Burgoyne and Sewell as well. Most over rated player in the league by a long shot.

 

[Jaeger]

Most over rated player in the league by a long shot.

When it comes to opposition supporters, he's the most underrated player by a long shot.

 

[Tas]

He has hurt factor, his lack of consistency hurts him though in terms of where he stands vs peers.

You can see the damage he does when he gets the ball, you have to ask why so often he is going through the motions in a lot of games and not trying to have an impact.

 

[RoK]

Mhe really other than being a very good player that hurts you even if he only get 10 touches adding his prssure and the fact he would walk into every clubs best 22, he's not much................

 

[i_need_a_pencil]

Fair enough and I mostly agree with that, but would you have him in your top 10?

No I wouldn't... but I assume the AFL player ratings looks closely at effectiveness and tackles, so I can understand. I'd say they'd be using specific statistics to create that list.

 

[Madblue]

Mhe really other than being a very good player that hurts you even if he only get 10 touches adding his prssure and the fact he would walk into every clubs best 22, he's not much................

Great skills but way to inconsistant to be anywhere near the top 10. He's not even the best small forward in the league !

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

From the 'How the ratings are calculated' page on the site, Cyril is actually a specific case study:

Cyril Rioli
Because of the high value of possession in the forward half of the ground and inside 50, efficient use of the ball forward of centre is highly rewarded. Cyril Rioli’s kicking efficiency was the best of the top-80 ballwinners in 2012. When Rioli kicked the ball into the forward line he found a mark 31% of the time – ranked third of the top-75 players for inside 50 kicks. Rioli ranked first in the competition for tackles laid inside the forward 50 of players to play five or more games in 2012 and ranked sixth for total pressure applied in the forward half of the same group. He also ranks No.1 for score assists and 18th overall for total goals, and his shot at goal accuracy of 59.3 per cent is among the highest in the competition.

 

[HappyChappy35]

No I wouldn't... but I assume the AFL player ratings looks closely at effectiveness and tackles, so I can understand. I'd say they'd be using specific statistics to create that list.

Fair enough. The fact they only use certain statistics to create those lists really highlights how ineffective they are as an accurate way of ranking players. No defenders in there either further demonstrates that using selective stats isn't the best way of comparing players.