Will AFL clubs will be fresh heading into the finals?Herald-Sun
September 3, 2015THE home-and-away season is about to end, but the cumulative fatigue season has only just begun.
A demanding campaign, which for some players started nearly 11 months ago and includes 42 hours of game time, is now taking its toll.
Amid all the debate this week about Round 23 resting at finals-bound clubs, some have been “resting” all year, using low midfield minutes and more rotations to ease their stars through.
The Herald Sun has conducted a freshness test on this year’s finalists, focusing on the top five-ranked midfielders at each of the eight clubs.
The numbers suggest the Sydney, Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn midfields will enter the finals series fresher than their rivals.
The Swans’ top five-performing onballers have spent an average 63 per cent of game time in the midfield, while being rotated an average 137 times across the season.
The Dogs (66 per cent and 129) and Hawks (67 per cent and 117) are not far behind.
Hawthorn has spent years cultivating arguably the most versatile list in club history, while Sydney’s onballers have also proven their versatility.
The Bulldogs, despite playing some of the most ballistic football of 2015, have also managed to share the load brilliantly under first-year coach Luke Beveridge.
Boy wonder Marcus Bontempelli has only spent 71 per cent of his on-field time in the guts.
Compare that to Andrew Swallow’s 94 per cent at North Melbourne, Matt Priddis’ 93 per cent at West Coast and Brandon Ellis’ 87 per cent at Richmond.
But the Tigers’ rotation numbers offer an insight into their cautious approach to matchwinner Dustin Martin.
Martin has gone to the bench 196 times in 21 appearances — 44 more than the next Tiger, Trent Cotchin, who’s only played one game less.
North Melbourne clearly have the highest percentage of game-time in midfield, either highlighting their midfielders’ lack of versatility or the club’s lack of reinforcements in this area.
Swallow, Ben Cunnington (87 per cent) and Jack Ziebell (80 per cent) have been crashing in on a weekly basis.
Intriguingly, Fremantle workhorse Michael Barlow has spent just 51 per cent of his game’s in midfield.
Hawks skipper Luke Hodge has been similarly held back, used in the middle just 52 per cent of the time.
Former Hawthorn best-and-fairest and dual premiership player Brad Sewell said a season-long build-up of fatigue can be a daunting obstacle on the eve of finals.
“There’s two aspects. First is the physical nature of being in that many contests and the second is the mental aspect of it, too,” Sewell said.
“It may sound a bit funny, but when you’re putting your body through that week after week, one per cent will drop off every now and then.
“It might only be a little bit each week, but it all adds up at this time of year. It’s that cumulative fatigue, it really is.”
TOP-FIVE RANKED MIDFIELDERS?ave games played / ave % of game time spent in midfieldFremantle: 20 / 77%
West Coast: 19 / 75%
Hawthorn: 19 / 67%
Sydney: 21 / 63%
Richmond: 21 / 74%
Western Bulldogs: 19 / 66%
Adelaide: 17 / 75%
North Melbourne: 19 / 84%
LOOKING AFTER DUSTY
matches / total rotationsBrandon Ellis: 21 / 132
Trent Cotchin: 20 / 152
Anthony Miles: 21 / 141
Shaun Grigg: 21 / 138
DUSTIN MARTIN: 21 / 196
READY TO STRIKE% of time spent in midfieldMichael Barlow 51%
Luke Hodge 52%
Dustin Martin 61%
Marcus Bontempelli 71%
Trent Cotchin 73%
* Numbers based on top-five ranked midfielders at each club
Source: Champion Datahttp://www.news.com.au/national/will-afl-clubs-will-be-fresh-heading-into-the-finals/story-e6frfkp9-1227509746791
