Damien Hardwick senses attacking trendBrent Read
The Australian
10 April 2018Damien Hardwick believes he has noted a trend that could lead to an entertaining season after assessing Richmond’s triumph over Hawthorn on Sunday.
According to the premiership coach, football circa 2018 is faster and more open, with sides attacking in what has largely been an attractive start to the year.
“It was a lot more open than both sides wanted at various stages. The game has certainly changed again,” he said.
“There is no doubt it is more offensive, for mine. Sides are starting to use their offence more. That is a challenge.”
The Richmond coach is determined not to stand still to ensure the Tigers maintain the edge that saw them end a premiership drought last September that dated back to 1980.
“It is making sure you are at or ahead of the curve and seeing what that looks like,” he said.
“Once you get a four week block you can start to see the trends materialise. We have a little bit more knowledge after this weekend’s game.
“I think you see the good sides that are able to move the ball — Hawthorn looked really dangerous at different stages with their ability to move the ball and we probably did too.
“It will be interesting to see how the game continues to evolve over the next couple of weeks.”
There is no doubt AFL fans are enjoying, for the most part, the manner in which football has been played this season.
The match between the Tigers and Hawthorn drew a record crowd for matches between the pair.
The Gold Coast also set a record crowd for a home game, though there is an obvious caveat, for their clash with Fremantle was held at Perth Arena after they sold the game to the Dockers.
But that helped boost a significant round 3 attendance of 393,537. It is the second highest attended round ever behind the opening round last season which attracted 400,401 fans.
And there is no doubt that goals are being kicked on a regular basis.
Lance Franklin, who leads the Coleman Medal with 14 goals, is enjoying his best start to a year in front of goal in a decade, a season in which he kicked a career-high tally of 113 in Hawthorn’s 2008 premiership season.
His tally to this stage is the best since Jonathan Brown booted 17 goals in the opening three rounds of 2010.
Another metric that backs Hardwick’s assessment is the fact the lowest winning score this season is 94 points, excluding the flood-ravaged game between the Gold Coast and North Melbourne in Cairns in the opening round.
The last time a comparable start occurred was at the beginning of the millennium.
But the free-flowing football has not necessarily led to higher scores overall, despite the facts above.
Excluding the game in Cairns, which was at threat of being called off, the average winning score to date this year is 106 points, according to official AFL statistics.
This is marginally above the average winning score last year (105 points) but below the 2016 figure of 108.
Losing sides are kicking higher scores to date this year, with an average of 77 points compared to 73 last year and 70 in 2016.
Whether the free-flowing trend noted by Hardwick continues remains to be seen, with four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson yet to be convinced.
“I reckon that if we look at every season, the early rounds of the season in particular, due to the fatigue and the heat, the dry grounds, I think you will find all seasons have higher scoring games in the early part of the season,” he said.
“It usually settles down for a whole number of reasons. Teams are still getting themselves fully match fit in the first part of the season. That is the most important one.”
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