Re: The Ruck Division .... Is It Really Competent Enough ??
Reply #342 –
I think a fair bit of time and energy gets wasted on statistics.
Ruck contests seem to attract a lot of attention but all statistics should be handled with care.
The problem with raw statistics is there are too many variables that affect them.
Was it windy, was it raining, who was the opposition, did the ball go to a Carlton player in a disposal who was immediately tackled or did it result in a clean clearance from the contest, what ground were we playing on, what injury did the player carry into the game, how often were they moved to a different opponent, were they being used in a decoy role, were they there to fill a tagging/nullifying role, was there a full moon....and that's just a sample.
So many important statistics aren't recorded as far as I know.
Tackles broken by the opposition is one that's significant!
Didn't chase is another!
I can think of a few of our 'good' players who would show up rather poorly if these were emphasised.
Stats are important in giving a bit of an indication, some are more significant than others.
But they're something that should be used as just an indicator, not necessarily as 'proof of the pudding'.
my favourite stat is scores from turnover.
Unless you win the clearance and then score pretty much every score comes from a turnover.