After a partial start to the 2025 season, with just two games played in Opening Round, the year will officially feel underway with the first of many nine-game rounds to begin on Thursday night.
Key statistical categories often determine how well your club performs, and indicate which side is controlling the contest. Last week, Sydney's scores off turnover was their key metric to watch. The Swans scored just 23 points off turnover on Friday, 32 fewer points than their 2024 average, resulting in a fairly comfortable loss to the Hawks.
With nine blockbuster fixtures to continue the season, we'll delve into the key statistical category that needs to be mastered for each mouthwatering Round 1 clash.
Adelaide vs St Kilda
Clearances
Clearances are equally important for the Crows and Saints this weekend, albeit for opposing reasons.
The Crows' disappointing 2024 season still had its positives, as the likes of Jordan Dawson, Jake Soligo, and Matt Crouch were supported at the bounce by livewire forward Izak Rankine.
Despite finishing 15th, the midfield quietly asserted themselves as one of the competition's best, averaging the sixth-most clearances per game, behind five eventual finalists.
Opposingly, the Saints will need to win the clearance to prove their midfield's competitiveness. Question marks have hovered over St Kilda's midfield, and with Mattaes Phillipou out of the side through injury, the Saints will once again be reliant on seasoned veterans.
If St Kilda can win the clearance, and be effective from those said clearances, it may help them shake the "one-paced" tag and make their claim as a competitive side in 2025.
