The "drab four" not so drab?

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  • wyatt
    Sitting in the red vest
    • Jul 2004
    • 124

    The "drab four" not so drab?

    Interesting comparison of midfields:

    Sydney's "drab four" - Bolton, Kirk, Mathews and Crouch - have totalled 1610 disposals this season.

    West Coast's "all-star" midfield - Fletcher, Judd, Kerr & Cousins - totalled 1781 disposals.

    If you break it down, the difference is less than 2 extra disposals per WC player per game.

    Admittedly Cousins has missed quite a few games, but he can't help the team when he's not on the ground.

    The bottom line is that for such a supposedly defensive midfield, our boys are still getting plenty of the ball (what they do with it is another thread entirely!!)
  • NMWBloods
    Taking Refuge!!
    • Jan 2003
    • 15819

    #2
    Re: The "drab four" not so drab?

    Originally posted by wyatt
    Interesting comparison of midfields:

    Sydney's "drab four" - Bolton, Kirk, Mathews and Crouch - have totalled 1610 disposals this season.

    West Coast's "all-star" midfield - Fletcher, Judd, Kerr & Cousins - totalled 1781 disposals.

    If you break it down, the difference is less than 2 extra disposals per WC player per game.

    Admittedly Cousins has missed quite a few games, but he can't help the team when he's not on the ground.
    Sydney players have achieved those possessions in 88 games.

    WC players in 79 games.

    So, a meaningful comparison is that the Sydney players average 18.3 disposals per game each, and WC players 22.5, so an extra 4 disposals per player.


    The bottom line is that for such a supposedly defensive midfield, our boys are still getting plenty of the ball (what they do with it is another thread entirely!!)
    What they do with it is critical - I would suggest that say 10 possessions from Judd is worth perhaps 20 from any of the Sydney midfielders above.
    Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

    "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

    Comment

    • dawson
      Senior Player
      • Mar 2003
      • 1007

      #3
      Whole thing is an invention of the media who have nothing else to write about....

      It is a complete fabrication of the truth and insulting to the Swans, Coach Roos and the players concerned.

      Comment

      • NMWBloods
        Taking Refuge!!
        • Jan 2003
        • 15819

        #4
        What is interesting is that West Coast stats do not seem to support a significantly better midfield.

        Swans v. WCE

        I50s: 44 v. 49 (comp ave 49)

        I50s/goal: 3.4 v. 3.7 (comp ave 3.6)

        Disposals/I50: 6.5 v. 6.3 (comp ave 6.1)

        Disposals/goal: 22 v. 23 (comp ave 22)

        Handballs as % of disposals: 41% v. 41% (comp ave 37%)

        Contested ball gets: 35 v. 30 (comp ave 31)

        Clearances: 7th best v. 6th best

        Tackles: 7th highest v. 8th highest


        West Coast lead the competition in uncontested ball gets whereas Sydney are third last. As I suggested previously, this indicates that WC like to play an open game and Sydney a closed one. The latter type normally does better in finals.
        Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

        "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

        Comment

        • Barry Schneider
          On the Rookie List
          • Sep 2003
          • 530

          #5
          Fletcher would be close to the king of receivers.Last game he played he had 35 posessions of which 20 were receives.He won't get that latitude this game.The Swans intensity and hardness at the ball has won games against the top teams and I don't think the Weagles will cope.

          Comment

          • Bart
            CHHHOMMMMMPPP!!!!
            • Feb 2003
            • 1360

            #6
            Originally posted by NMWBloods
            West Coast lead the competition in uncontested ball gets whereas Sydney are third last. As I suggested previously, this indicates that WC like to play an open game and Sydney a closed one. The latter type normally does better in finals.
            Yet Sydney lead the comp in both lowest numbers of contested and uncontested possessions conceded

            Comment

            • NMWBloods
              Taking Refuge!!
              • Jan 2003
              • 15819

              #7
              Originally posted by Bart
              Yet Sydney lead the comp in both lowest numbers of contested and uncontested possessions conceded
              Yep - this is how I think Sydney can win, by shutting down WC and controlling the ball.
              Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

              "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

              Comment

              • midaro
                On the Rookie List
                • Jan 2003
                • 1042

                #8
                Re: The "drab four" not so drab?

                Originally posted by wyatt
                Interesting comparison of midfields:

                Sydney's "drab four" - Bolton, Kirk, Mathews and Crouch - have totalled 1610 disposals this season.

                West Coast's "all-star" midfield - Fletcher, Judd, Kerr & Cousins - totalled 1781 disposals.
                I have a major issue with these numbers.

                The fact is that WC's midfield has far greater depth than ours. I'd expect to find that the 4 players from WC have spent proportionally far less time 'on the ball' than ours - whilst their 5, 6, 7, 8, etc ranked midfielders get a run.

                IMO those numbers are classic apples and oranges.

                Comment

                • vicburke
                  On the Rookie List
                  • Aug 2004
                  • 34

                  #9
                  Re: Re: The "drab four" not so drab?

                  wont be so drab when we move schneider into the middlefield next year.....dynamite!!

                  (oooooohh i feel like i am about to start something!!! )


                  GO MY LITTLE GERMAN SWAN!
                  Schneiderman
                  Schneiderman
                  If he cant do it no one can!

                  *Long Live Matthew Burke*

                  Comment

                  • cruiser
                    What the frack!
                    • Jul 2004
                    • 6114

                    #10
                    This comment in today's Herald Sun re our midfield:

                    Indeed, the Swans are disciplined, resilient, and will pose problems for any opposing forward line. They have a group of accountable midfielders who are harder to shake than a bad relative.

                    Occupational hazards:
                    I don't eat animals since discovering this ability. I used to. But one day the lamb I was eating came through to me and ever since then I haven't been able to eat meat.
                    - animal psychic Amanda de Warren

                    Comment

                    • NMWBloods
                      Taking Refuge!!
                      • Jan 2003
                      • 15819

                      #11
                      Last night Williams showed the value of a classy and attacking midfielder (who also understands the defensive aspect of the game).
                      Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat.

                      "[T]here are things that matter more and he's reading and thinking about them: heaven, reincarnation. Life and death are the only things that are truly a matter of life and death. Not football."

                      Comment

                      • Wil
                        On the Rookie List
                        • Jun 2004
                        • 619

                        #12
                        For me the only real fault of our midfield is their clanger count. Does anyone have a statistic of these vs West Coast over the season?

                        The only thing our midfield is not good at is supplying the forwards and kicking goals themselves - hence the "defensive midfield" label.

                        Comment

                        • cruiser
                          What the frack!
                          • Jul 2004
                          • 6114

                          #13
                          Delivery to our forwards in the first quarter was very ordinary. Much improved in the second and subsequent quarters.
                          Occupational hazards:
                          I don't eat animals since discovering this ability. I used to. But one day the lamb I was eating came through to me and ever since then I haven't been able to eat meat.
                          - animal psychic Amanda de Warren

                          Comment

                          • Donners
                            On the Rookie List
                            • Jan 2003
                            • 1061

                            #14
                            I noticed a very distinct gap in class between the two midfields. Had the conditions stayed fine, I think we could have been in a fair amount of trouble. It was quite fortunate the rain came when it did.

                            Comment

                            • BigBadBustlin
                              On the Rookie List
                              • Sep 2004
                              • 42

                              #15
                              West Coast midfield are over-rated. Chris Judd is an absolute star, and Ben Cousins is a great leader. But the rest i do not rate at all.

                              Fletcher got plenty of it, but never hurt us once and Kerr was hardly sighted all night. I would rather have Kirky, Jude, Mathews and Willo in my team then Fletcher, Kerr, Embley etc. All our players go hard at the ball and are not afraid to get under the packs and dish out handballs to team-mates. Those 3 eagles midfielders are mostly a bunch of receivers who enjoy fast grounds where they can use their pace.

                              Just my opinion, but i think the west coast midfield is far from the best in the competition.

                              Comment

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