There's not much that separates the teams from one another in the AFL this season. With only two wins separating 2nd on the ladder from 10th, it cannot be argued that we're in for an exciting end to the year.
During such a competitive season, it's no secret that you find interesting results when you dive deep into the team stats. Often stats agree with the placement of teams on the ladder, however when looking at disposal efficiency, there are some odd discrepancies.
Taking a look at each team's ability to effectively use the ball and minimise clangers may leave you a little shocked. Out of the top 10 teams in disposal efficiency, only four are in the top eight.
Here's how your team ranked in disposal efficiency:
Team | Total |
---|---|
1 Collingwood | 74.6 |
2 Hawthorn | 74 |
2 Fremantle | 74 |
4 St Kilda | 73.7 |
5 Brisbane Lions | 73.6 |
6 West Coast Eagles | 73.4 |
7 Essendon | 73.1 |
8 Sydney Swans | 72.7 |
9 Geelong Cats | 72.6 |
10 Western Bulldogs | 72.5 |
11 Melbourne | 72 |
12 Adelaide Crows | 71.8 |
13 GWS Giants | 71.4 |
14 Richmond | 71.2 |
15 Port Adelaide | 71.1 |
16 Carlton | 70 |
17 North Melbourne | 69.9 |
18 Gold Coast Suns | 66.5 |
Clearly, according to the rankings, disposal efficiency isn't as vital as you may have thought. In the case of the Tigers, they are currently sitting first on the ladder but rank 14th in disposal efficiency, so if you're team isn't sitting too high, it isn't the end of the world.
Even more surprisingly, the same goes for clangers. four of the top six teams with the most clangers per game are in the top eight.
Here are the rankings for most clangers this season:
Team | Total | Average |
---|---|---|
1 Gold Coast Suns | 884 | 63.1 |
2 Richmond | 844 | 60.3 |
3 GWS Giants | 841 | 60.1 |
4 Carlton | 816 | 58.3 |
5 Port Adelaide | 812 | 58 |
6 Melbourne | 809 | 57.8 |
7 North Melbourne | 807 | 57.6 |
8 Essendon | 805 | 57.5 |
9 Hawthorn | 797 | 56.9 |
10 St Kilda | 792 | 56.6 |
11 Sydney Swans | 791 | 56.5 |
12 Fremantle | 789 | 56.4 |
13 Collingwood | 784 | 56 |
14 Geelong Cats | 781 | 55.8 |
15 Brisbane Lions | 774 | 55.3 |
16 Western Bulldogs | 727 | 51.9 |
17 West Coast Eagles | 718 | 51.3 |
18 Adelaide Crows | 717 | 51.2 |
In both disposal efficiency and clangers, the league's best Tigers rank poorly. Although efficiency doesn't mean everything, it is certainly a way to lift a struggling team. Gold Coast and Carlton both rank in the bottom four in both stats and are arguably the league's worst two teams based on form.