Pre-season begins

[dejavoodoo44]

BS .....i agree that there will be a need to get into the top4 re contested ball as the stats dont lie for the top4 in 2021

Horse himself articulated at training recently that this was a key focus.

But I dont think we are far off.........from memory we were only just out of the top 4 for this stat and marginal?

We played a style that created a lot of one on ones or one on nones ie shorter sharp low kicks to a man open and leading.................

The positive of this style is we have the ball for a high percentage vs the opposition and the opposition doesnt. ie we have control.

The downside of this style of play is that you are one on one and will be vulnerable to turnovers and not winning the contest if it falls to the ground as you are fully committed to the mark in front of your defender and are easily pushed past the ball.

so for me it is a small percentage change but a critical one for us to be in the top4 vs say goal percentage being higher vs missing

Interesting point and I'm curious as to how the top four was measured: was it by the percentage of contests won, or was it the raw amount of contests won? I tend to think that percentage would be a more useful stat, since the raw number could be giving a positive interpretation to ineffective play. For instance, in one sequence: a kick goes to a contest; the contest is won but a scrubbed kick under pressure goes out of bounds; the team then takes possession from the ruck but handballs to the opposition, who then spot up a player in the forward 50; that player then goals. In another sequence: the kick in finds an unmarked half back; they take off and once in the clear, kicks long to a winger: the winger takes an uncontested mark; then because the opposition haven't had time to set their defence, the winger hits a leading forward; the forward then goals. Obviously the second sequence is better play, but there were no contested possessions. While the error ridden first sequence generated two contested possession wins.