Collingwood stats assessment

[melliot]

SEN had the stats gurus on yesterday arvo. This is what I noted.

Pies have changed to be the lowest kick to handball ratio team. Meaning we handball more often than any others. Which is bucking the afl trend of higher ratios from last year for most other teams.

We kick it mostly direct when we do kick.

Last year we were no 2 for disposals and a highly contested ball team. This year is simular but more handball and more direct kicking. Less kicking sideways/backwards.

They also need on other 4 weeks to conclude the pies trend and to see if the pies had cemented this style change.

Podcast should be on the website and I probably missed some bits while working. Worth a listen if you like that stuff. You know.... death by numbers and number trends.

I like that we are different and not being sheep. It's how a flag can be won by being a pioneer with a stratagy and be ahead of the wave of followers and being furtheradvanced/practiced with it.

I think we don't kick well either as a generalisation, so using handball reduces the kicking errors + maintains possession = Less turnovers and scoring opportunities for opposition. Noting most afl teams scores come from turnovers. Reduce turnovers = reduced scores for opposition. It should also increase scoring with fast handball movement and direct kicking.

Of course we'll need to wait to see if opposition can break down our new style, pressure our handball game and turn it over there instead of marking our near impossible kick selections.

It certainly contrasts last year. For those that remember our SCG win last year. That 1st Q where we held possession with short kicking and constant field switches. Which was considered at the time as master coaching.

It is at least going to be interesting to watch and see if this style can be reproduced consistantly by our team and not be broken down by opposition after a few weeks of observation/analysis.

I must say too that I enjoyed the Pies style from Friday night. First time in a very long time. Eg: I didn't overly enjoy the Pies win over WCE in 2017. It was ordinary footy to watch.

I am excited to see them play again for a long time. It has a vibe about it. Although it is premature. And team football progression is not linear.

We also just won against Calton and an undermaned Crows outfit that appears off their tucker. So I have excitement, but some reservations.

[melliot]

Link here:
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/04/17/the-stylistic-and-structural-changes-that-have-boosted-collingwood/


Sorry for the other repeat threads. Bloody buggy smart phones! Mods can delete others.

[Culprit]

Let's come back to this in Round 9. The Crows without the Crouch Brothers are a different team. It was a good win but let's not get carried away.

[melliot]

But at least it's changed.

[Culprit]

It's proof that the Coach and his assistants are having and impact and further to that Buckley has changed his style with experience.

[Pies2016]

A switched on opposition just doesn’t allow you move the ball so quickly and so often. Pies were brilliant on Friday night but that will be much more an exception than the rule. Great for confidence and belief though ( and four points )

High handball ratios are fine as long as they are play making handballs and not “ here, it’s your problem “ give offs that lose territory.
The surprise for me was how often we handballed in wet conditions.
That’s usually a recipe for disaster with so much pressure in the modern game.
My opinion is ( and that’s all it is ) is that the higher handball ratio has evolved in an effort to gain more deeper entries into our forward 50. I think we are seeing more FORWARD handballs around the centre. That’s one tactic used to clear the extra defender ( s ) and also result in easier shots on goal when the long kick goes in deep.

[RudeBoy]

Sack the coach.

[Skids]

[melliot]

My observations of the forward structure when the ball is in the defensive half is that we are playing effectively two tall CHFs in Reid and Cox. but positioned on the flanks. So for the slow plays with a long kick down the line, we have the tall timber competing. These guys attract the spare defender or where the zone defense centers/concentrates.

This opens up the f50 and we have a mid sized FF (Stephenson & Degoey last Friday). Because we have attracted the defenders to our talls down the line, it opens up the corridor and the F50 to more 1 on 1s. If we can open up a free flowing play through the corridor with handball and short kicking, we can hit up the leading mid sized FF or Pagans paddock scenario with 1 on 1.

If the zone shifts. It should leave our tall timber 1 on 1 and a good option to use.

[Pies2016]

^^^

It’s hard to tell watching from a TV but positioning of players on the night did seem similar to your description.
I still believe the single biggest reason for our run and lateral support, was Grundys absolute domination at the clearances. Our mids could trust Grundy to tap to advantage at nearly contest.
The writing was on the wall early and Pyke should have set up two or even three mids on the defensive side of the square to stop the rot. I guess he chose to trust his system and have belief in his players to turn it around but effectively they didn’t get their hands on the ball first at any stage of the game.

It all sets up for a genuine ANZAC day blockbuster.

[inxs88]

When you can’t kick it’s better to handball

[Presti35]

"This team loves a handball"

I remember hearing that in the crowd a few weeks back.

[E]

[Cam]

The great Cat teams were handballing teams, whilst the Hawks were precise kickers. I feel we are more like the Cats... when we are allowed to be. The next two games will give us a much better indication of where we are at. Yes last week was an amazing win, but we've seen those games every now and then. A hungry Essendon team and a Richmond team trying to prove they weren't one hit wonders await us. Good team find a way to show up more of than not, if we show up in both games [even if we lose] that will give more positive vibes than if we see the Hawks game again.

[Streak]