Author Topic: Stats show Collingwood has massive free kick advantage over Richmond (H-Sun)  (Read 1179 times)

Offline one-eyed

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Stats show Collingwood has massive free kick advantage over Richmond in 2018

Jon Ralph,
Herald Sun
19 Sep 2018


RICHMOND will take the worst free kick imbalance in 20 seasons into Friday’s preliminary final courtesy of its midfield game plan and aggressive marking tactics.

The Tigers have won 119 fewer free kicks than their opponents this year -— ranked 18th in the competition, the biggest imbalance of any team since 1999.

By contrast they take on Nathan Buckley’s disciplined Pies, a team that is ranked No.1 for free kicks after winning 104 more frees than it has conceded.

Yet it is apparent Richmond’s lack of free kicks is less about the rub of the green than a particular style that has won the Tigers 19 games so far this season.

Richmond is also ranked No.18 in clearances despite its brilliant performances, playing a midfield style that often sees them losing the clearance but then aggressively tackling the ball carrier to ensure the ball isn’t released into space.

They have given away 58 free kicks for a high tackle when attempting a tackle — the most of any team.

The conceding of free kicks is a necessary evil for Richmond’s players — when a team puts frenetic pressure on the ball-carrier it is bound to at times cross the line.

Richmond has given away 95 more free kicks in the midfield zone than it has conceded (No.18 in the AFL), while the Pies are plus 61 (No.1 in the AFL) in that area of the ground.

Tigers defenders have a licence to fly for marks but also concede huge free kick numbers as they try to win the ball back from the opposition.

They have given away 160 free kicks in marking contests — 10 more than any other side.

The Tigers have given away 21 more free kicks than any other side for a push in the back in a marking contest and the second-most free kicks for holding the man in a marking contest.

2018 FREE KICK LADDER

Club         Frees for   Frees against   Differential
Collingwood          502   403   +99
West Coast           501   416   +85
North Melbourne   491   406   +85
Western Bulldogs  473   425   +48
Adelaide               425   378   +47
Brisbane Lions      484   457   +27
Carlton                 481   474   +7
Geelong               473   466   +7
Hawthorn             459   457   +2
Melbourne            447   455   -8
Sydney                454   477   -23
Essendon             422   448   -26
Port Adelaide        443   470   -27
Fremantle             432   474   -42
Gold Coast            455   500   -45
St Kilda                410   464   -54
GWS Giants          415   477   -62
Richmond             386   506   -120

Rivals have noticed the Tigers defenders often attempt to turn their opponent in a marking contest, often with subtle use of the hands to move them away from the drop zone or take away their balance.

But they also fly for the ball when they have the chance — Alex Rance has given away 31 free kicks for the year (the third-most for Richmond) but has also won a team-high 39 free kicks for the year.

In recent weeks the Tigers have won against Geelong despite a 15-23 free kick imbalance, beaten Essendon despite a 15-27 free kick count and just survived against the Dogs despite losing the count 10-20.

FREE KICKS BY ZONE
Zone           Collingwood   Richmond
Defensive 50    +17 (5th)   -71 (18th)
Midfield           +61 (1st)   -95 (18th)
Forward 50      +26 (1st)   -9 (14th)

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick conceded before the qualifying final win over Hawthorn the Tigers didn’t always get the balance right around the stoppages.

“Ideally we’d love to win the ball at stoppages, we’re (ranked last) but we’re also (ranked last) for free kicks,” Hardwick said.

“We’re giving away a lot of free kicks at stoppages and that’s the reason we’re losing stoppages.

“We’ve just got to be a little bit more careful with our aggression around the ball.”

Dustin Martin has broken 42 tackles this year with his famous “don’t argue” — well down on the 83 he managed last year, and has been caught holding the ball 12 times (down from 20 in 2017).

UMPIRES' PETS
Collingwood frees for  Richmond frees for
Brodie Grundy 53          Alex Rance 39
Taylor Adams 33           Toby Nankervis 31
Mason Cox 33              Dustin Martin 28
Tom Langdon 27            Jack Riewoldt 27
Scott Pendlebury 27       Dylan Grimes 23

REPEAT OFFENDERS
Collingwood frees against  Richmond frees against
Brodie Grundy 36            Toby Nankervis 57
Taylor Adams 36             Dustin Martin 35
Steele Sidebottom 26        Alex Rance 31
Tom Langdon 25              Nick Vlastuin 30
Jack Crisp 22               Jack Riewoldt 27

Source: Champion Data. Numbers for home-and-away season.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/stats-show-collingwood-has-massive-free-kick-advantage-over-richmond-in-2018/news-story/557c54c4489884e7a5228efbb8efba97

dwaino

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The forward 50 one is what has me concerned. Cox just falls over his own feet and wins a kick.

Offline mat073

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They received some dubious free kicks against the Giants... Which became the difference in the end.
Unleash the tornado

Offline big tone

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For a team that has mimicked its game on ours, they sure get more free than us. 116 to be exact.
Pendlebury has and still does gets a very good run to put it politely.

Offline Owl

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The umpires will get mugged on live television if they pull some of the poo they have been in this final.
Lots of people name their swords......

Offline mightytiges

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The problem with their reasoning (that our pressure tactics are to blame), is it doesn't excuse nor explain our low Frees For count. 24 less Frees For than the 2nd worst club and 116 less than umpires pet Collingwood  ::). That's almost 6 more Frees For per game than we receive ::). Our players are regularly held back, scragged and cop high shots but the umps just ignore them.   
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Lebowski

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Good that this is being highlighted although in finals generally the umps let the soft ones go and its the soft ones we've been slaughtered on especially when it comes to our backs

Offline Gracie

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The other point is that in the home and away there needs to be 27 umps for all the games plus the usual rotation depending on form.

With just two games this week we have the top 6 rated umps and next week the three best rated umps.

Therefore with the level of umpiring ability and experience there should be less wrong calls made.

"Should be" being the operative words