I’d originally planned on doing a proper analysis of how our midfield was functioning last season, but with the reduced games and how dreary most AFL games were to watch last season, I opted against it.
The Basics
Midfield Frequency - 30 Bounces
How often our players were lining up as one of the 5 mids (inside + wing) at bounces.
| Merrett | 24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shiel | 24 | 1w |
| McGrath | 22 | 14i, 8w |
| Langford | 22 | wing (1i) |
| Cox | 19 | wing |
| Caldwell | 16 | |
| Parish | 11 | |
| Ham | 11 | wing |
| Smith | 1 |
Rucks
Draper 27
Wright 3
Champion Data’s Centre Clearances (13 vs. 14 for Hawthorn)
Parish 3
Shiel 3
McGrath 2
Draper 2
Merrett 1
Caldwell 1
Hind 1
The centre clearance stat is a basic one available to anyone, but like any stat in isolation it can be misleading - the gold standard (which I presume the coaches have access to) is comparing whether players ultimately a negative or positive impact on the team winning the centre clearance. As an example a player might not win many (or any clearances), but their defensive work on their opponent at the stoppage might have an overall positive impact on winning the clearances, whereas a pure ball hunter might win a lot of clearances but could ultimately negatively impact your chances of winning the ball.
Before I get to the next portion, after careful analysis I dispute 2 stats by Champion Data - there was a clearance for McGrath that they didn’t pay which based on some other clearances they do give was nonsensical; the other is they’ve allocated a clearance to Draper that should’ve gone to Merrett. So I have our CC’s as 14 not 13 and Merrett with 2 clearances rather than Draper.
| Player | Overall | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draper | 30 | 27 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 44.4% | 14 | -2.2% | |
| Merrett | 30 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 54.2% | 14 | 7.5% |
| Shiel | 30 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 34.8% | 14 | -11.9% |
| Caldwell | 30 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 37.5% | 14 | -9.2% | |
| McGrath | 30 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% | 14 | 3.3% |
| Parish | 30 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 63.6% | 14 | 17.0% |
| Wright | 30 | 3 | 2 | 66.7% | 14 | 20.0% | |||
| Smith | 30 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 14 | 53.3% | |||
| Langford | 30 | 1 | 0.0% | 14 | -46.7% | ||||
| 46.7% |
Key:
Overall = overall bounces for the game
A = Bounces attended
W = How many centre clearances we won when they attended a centre bounce
CC = Centre clearances for that player
E = How many of those centre clearances were effective (shot at goal, stoppage in our F50, hit a forward target)
I = How many of their centre clearances were ineffective (turnover or results in stoppage before entering our 50)
Win% = The percentage of bounces they attended that resulted in a winning centre clearance
EssCC = Overall centre clearances for the game - no impact on any player I just need it in there. The more important number is the percentage at the bottom which represents our overall likeliness of winning the clearance
Diff = The difference (positive or negative) between our overall percentage of winning the clearance vs. their win %.
And I’ll just throw this in - who was our first kick in a clearance chain (assuming there was one) and whether their kick was effective or not.
| This Game | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Effect | Ineffect |
| McGrath | 2 | 1 |
| Parish | 1 | 2 |
| Caldwell | 1 | |
| Langford | 1 | |
| Smith | 1 | |
| Shiel | 1 | |
| Hind | 1 | |
| Draper | 1 | |
| Merrett | 1 |
NB> The Draper one could be counted either way depending on opinion as it was a shot at goal that missed - traditionally statisticians mark points as ineffective kicks, the only exception being if that point wins the team the game.
I hope I’ve explained things well enough for people to get the gist of things. I’m planning on completing one of these for every Essendon match.
Round 2 vs. Port Adelaide
Overall Summary - 31 Bounces
Cox 27 wing
McGrath 26 (17i, 9w)
Merrett 23
Langford 21 (18w, 3i)
Shiel 19
Parish 15
Caldwell 10
Ham 4 wing
Smith 4
Cutler (s) 4 wing
Walla 2
Draper 19
Wright 12
Centre Clearances
Shiel 6
Parish 2
Wright 2
McGrath 1
Caldwell 1
Ham 1
Cahill 1
Rd 2 Impact at CB’s per Player
| Player | Overall | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrett | 31 | 23 | 13 | 56.5% | 14 | 11.4% | |||
| Draper | 31 | 19 | 8 | 42.1% | 14 | -3.1% | |||
| Shiel | 31 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 63.2% | 14 | 18.0% |
| McGrath | 31 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 41.2% | 14 | -4.0% | |
| Parish | 31 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 46.7% | 14 | 1.5% |
| Wright | 31 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 50.0% | 14 | 4.8% | |
| Caldwell | 31 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20.0% | 14 | -25.2% | |
| Smith | 31 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 14 | -20.2% | |||
| Langford | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 14 | -45.2% | |||
| Walla | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 14 | -45.2% | |||
| 45.2% |
Overall 2021 Impact
| Player | O | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrett | 61 | 47 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 55.3% | 28 | 9.4% |
| Draper | 61 | 46 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 43.5% | 28 | -2.4% | |
| Shiel | 61 | 42 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 47.6% | 28 | 1.7% |
| McGrath | 61 | 31 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 45.2% | 28 | -0.7% |
| Caldwell | 61 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 30.8% | 28 | -15.1% | |
| Parish | 61 | 26 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 53.8% | 28 | 7.9% |
| Wright | 61 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 53.3% | 28 | 7.4% | |
| Smith | 61 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | 28 | -5.9% | |||
| Langford | 61 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% | 28 | -45.9% | |||
| Tippa | 61 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 28 | -45.9% | |||
| 45.9% |
Key:
Overall = overall bounces for the game
A = Bounces attended
W = How many centre clearances we won when they attended a centre bounce
CC = Centre clearances for that player
E = How many of those centre clearances were effective (shot at goal, stoppage in our F50, hit a forward target)
I = How many of their centre clearances were ineffective (turnover or results in stoppage before entering our 50)
Win% = The percentage of bounces they attended that resulted in a winning centre clearance
EssCC = Overall centre clearances for the game - no impact on any player I just need it in there. The more important number is the percentage at the bottom which represents our overall likeliness of winning the clearance
Diff = The difference (positive or negative) between our overall percentage of winning the clearance vs. their win %.
First kick in a Clearance chain
| This Game | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effect | Ineffect | Effect | Ineffect | |
| McGrath | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| Parish | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Shiel | 2 | 3 | ||
| Caldwell | 1 | 2 | ||
| Ham | 2 | 2 | ||
| Smith | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Hind | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Merrett | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Langford | 1 | |||
| Draper | 1 |
Round 3 vs. St Kilda
Overall Summary - 35 Bounces
Langford 28 wing
Merrett 27
Parish 26 (1w)
Cox 25 wing
Stringer 24
McGrath 20 (5w)
Smith 11 (1w)
Ham 8 wing
Perkins 4
Waterman 2 wing
Wright 30
Langford 3
Cox 2
Centre Clearances (18)
Parish 6
Wright 5 (3 from frees)
Stringer 3
Merrett 1
McGrath 1
Smith 1
Ham 1
Rd 3 Impact at CB’s per Player
| Player | Overall | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright | 35 | 30 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 56.7% | 18 | 5.2% |
| Merrett | 35 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 48.1% | 18 | -3.3% | |
| Parish | 35 | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 56.0% | 18 | 4.6% |
| Stringer | 35 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 54.2% | 18 | 2.7% | |
| McGrath | 35 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 60.0% | 18 | 8.6% | |
| Smith | 35 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 40.0% | 18 | -11.4% | |
| Perkins | 35 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 18 | -26.4% | |||
| Langford | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 18 | -51.4% | |||
| Cox | 35 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% | 18 | -1.4% | |||
| 51.4% |
Overall 2021 Impact at Bounces
| Player | O | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrett | 96 | 74 | 39 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 52.7% | 46 | 4.8% |
| Parish | 96 | 51 | 28 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 54.9% | 46 | 7.0% |
| McGrath | 96 | 46 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 50.0% | 46 | 2.1% |
| Draper | 96 | 46 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 43.5% | 46 | -4.4% | |
| Wright | 96 | 45 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 55.6% | 46 | 7.6% |
| Shiel | 96 | 42 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 47.6% | 46 | -0.3% |
| Caldwell | 96 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 30.8% | 46 | -17.1% | |
| Stringer | 96 | 24 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 54.2% | 46 | 6.2% | |
| Smith | 96 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 40.0% | 46 | -7.9% | |
| Langford | 96 | 7 | 0 | 0.0% | 46 | -47.9% | |||
| Perkins | 96 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 46 | -22.9% | |||
| Cox | 96 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% | 46 | 2.1% | |||
| Walla | 96 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 46 | -47.9% | |||
| 47.9% |
Overall/O = overall bounces for the game/season
A = Bounces attended
W = How many centre clearances we won when that player attended a centre bounce
CC = Centre clearances for that player
E = How many of those centre clearances were effective (shot at goal, stoppage in our F50, hit a target by foot)
I = How many of their centre clearances were ineffective (direct turnover or results in a stoppage before entering our 50)
Win% = The percentage of bounces they attended that resulted in a winning centre clearance
EssCC = Overall centre clearances for the game/season - no impact on any player I just need it in there. The more important number is the percentage at the bottom which represents our overall likeliness of winning the clearance for the game or season
Diff = The difference (positive or negative) between our overall likelihood of winning the clearance vs. a player’s individual win %.
First kick in a Clearance chain
| This Game | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effect | Ineffect | Effect | Ineffect | |
| McGrath | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
| Parish | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Merrett | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Shiel | 3 | |||
| Stringer | 3 | 3 | ||
| Ham | 1 | 3 | ||
| Caldwell | 2 | |||
| Smith | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Hind | 1 | 1 | ||
| Langford | 1 | |||
| Redman | 1 | 1 | ||
| Draper | 1 | |||
| Wright | 1 | 1 |
Round 4 vs. Sydney
Overall Summary - 27 Bounces
Merrett 23 (2w)
Parish 22
McGrath 22 (12i, 10w)
Stringer 21
Cox 19 wing
Langford 16 wing
Smith 5
Ham 3 wing
Jones 3 wing
Snelling 1 wing
Centre Clearances 8-17 (official)
McGrath 2
Wright 2 (1 free)
Parish 2
Merrett 1*
Stringer 1
As this is Essendon-centric, I’ve given Merrett a 2nd clearance for analysis as it was one we should’ve won to official standards but screwed it up - it’d passed through 3 hands before, ultimately, Parish missed a handball and the Swans swooped.
Best Run: Bounces 5-7 (3 wins)
Worst Run: Bounces 17-21 (5 losses)
We only won 2 centre clearances in the 2nd half, though we did win 2 of the next 3 clearances after that worst run. Despite Wright being the ruck for the only 2nd half wins, Cox contested the final 3 bounces for 2 clear losses and a repeat stoppage.
Rd 4 Impact at CB’s per player
| Player | Overall | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parish | 27 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 36.4% | 9 | 3.0% |
| Merrett | 27 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 23.8% | 9 | -9.5% | |
| Stringer | 27 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 28.6% | 9 | -4.8% | |
| Wright | 27 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 40.0% | 9 | 6.7% | |
| McGrath | 27 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 50.0% | 9 | 16.7% | |
| Smith | 27 | 5 | 2 | 40.0% | 9 | 6.7% | |||
| Cox | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0.0% | 9 | -33.3% | |||
| Langford | 27 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% | 9 | 16.7% | |||
| 33.3% |
The Parish-Merrett partnership doesn’t appear to be clicking the way Shiel-Merrett has done, given McGrath has had the most impact 2 weeks running, it might be worth giving Merrett a few more wing starts.
Overall 2021 Impact
| Player | O | A | W | CC | E | I | Win % | Ess CC | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrett | 123 | 95 | 44 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 46.3% | 55 | 1.6% |
| Parish | 123 | 73 | 36 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 49.3% | 55 | 4.6% |
| Wright | 123 | 65 | 33 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 50.8% | 55 | 6.1% |
| McGrath | 123 | 58 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 50.0% | 55 | 5.3% |
| Draper | 123 | 46 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 43.5% | 55 | -1.2% | |
| Stringer | 123 | 45 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 42.2% | 55 | -2.5% | |
| Shiel | 123 | 42 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 47.6% | 55 | 2.9% |
| Caldwell | 123 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 30.8% | 55 | -13.9% | |
| Smith | 123 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 40.0% | 55 | -4.7% | |
| Langford | 123 | 9 | 1 | 11.1% | 55 | -33.6% | |||
| Cox | 123 | 7 | 1 | 14.3% | 55 | -30.4% | |||
| Perkins | 123 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% | 55 | -19.7% | |||
| Walla | 123 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 55 | -44.7% | |||
| 44.7% |
Key:
Overall = overall bounces for the game
A = Bounces attended
W = How many centre clearances we won when they attended a centre bounce
CC = Centre clearances for that player
E = How many of those centre clearances were effective (shot at goal, stoppage in our F50, hit a forward target)
I = How many of their centre clearances were ineffective (turnover or results in stoppage before entering our 50)
Win% = The percentage of bounces they attended that resulted in a winning centre clearance
EssCC = Overall centre clearances for the game - no impact on any player I just need it in there. The more important number is the percentage at the bottom which represents our overall likeliness of winning the clearance
Diff = The difference (positive or negative) between our overall percentage of winning the clearance vs. their win %.
First kick in a clearance chain
| This Game | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effect | Ineffect | Effect | Ineffect | |
| McGrath | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| Parish | 1 | 6 | 5 | |
| Stringer | 1 | 4 | ||
| Merrett | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| Shiel | 3 | |||
| Ham | 3 | |||
| Caldwell | 2 | |||
| Wright | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Smith | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Langford | 1 | |||
| Redman | 1 | |||
| Hind | 1 | 1 | ||
| Draper | 1 |