Sam Edmund and Brad Johnson preview Hawthorn.
Sam Edmund and Brad Johnson preview Adelaide Crows.
WHAT happens on the field no longer stays on the field. In the first of our new regular column, field marshal Sam Edmund dissects the statistics and battle strategies of the week's big matches
HOW THEY WILL LINE UP
ADELAIDE v ESSENDON
AAMI STADIUM, TONIGHT, 8.40PM
RADIO: 3AW, SEN, Triple M, ABC 774
TV: Channel 7, Fox Footy, 8.30pm
TAB SPORTSBET
CROWS $1.45
BOMBERS $2.75
Patrick Dangerfield leads Adelaide for points scored in Round 1 matches in the past three seasons, averaging 100 a match.
Last-minute Supercoach cheat sheet
Brent Stanton has scored more points than any other Essendon player in the opening fixture since 2010, averaging 142 points a match.
LAST TIME Rd 19, 2012, Adel 16.8 (104) d Ess 15.10 (100), AAMI Stadium
UP FOR THE CONTEST
Adelaide improved significantly in the contest last season. They averaged 11.6 more contested possessions than the opposition - a differential 3.5 better than any other team in the competition. At the clearances they averaged 5.7 more per game than the opposition.
LIVE HQ
Patrick Dangerfield led the way for the Crows in the contested possessions with 16.1 per game - ranked second in the AFL - while Scott Thompson averaged 6.8 clearances per game - ranked third in the competition.
Throughout the pre-season the Bombers have been ball hogs averaging a time in possession differential of +6.7% - ranked second. They have ranked second in disposals, No.1 in marks, No.1 in uncontested possessions and fourth for inside 50s.
A strength of the Bombers throughout the pre-season has been its defence. Jake Carlisle appears to be set for a breakout season after winning the ball off the opposition 21 times in the NAB Cup - ranked fourth. His 10 intercept marks and six contested intercept marks both ranked No.1 in the competition.
IT was once best described as the Windy Hill welcome mat.
Now it's more like a reinforced steel "trespassers will be prosecuted" sign.
It is the entry to Essendon's defensive 50m. For almost 10 years, opposition clubs have strolled through it to score more freely against the Bombers than any other club.
Statistics obtained by the Herald Sun have laid bare Essendon's years of defensive pain.
From 2004 to 2012 the Bombers conceded the highest points-against average of any side in the AFL.
In that time, Essendon sides coached by Kevin Sheedy, Matthew Knights and James Hird coughed up an average 105.6 points a game.
On average, it is a staggering 25 points more each week than modern-day defensive powerhouses Geelong (80.2), Sydney (80.4) and St Kilda (80.7).
Hird this week spoke frankly about the desperate need to shut the gate ahead of his third season in charge.
"I think defensively we haven't pulled it together for a long time at this club and I think for the last 10 years we've been poor defensively," Hird said.
"If we don't pull that together and become a really defensive team then we'll get scored against easily and beaten in games quite easily at certain times. We need to get that defensive side of our game a lot better."
Adelaide will be confronted by a new Essendon in tonight's 2013 season-opener at AAMI Stadium.
In a dramatic change, the Bombers allowed only 38 points a game during the NAB Cup to enter the season as the stingiest team in the competition.
It's only the pre-season, but Essendon's No.1 ranking is clear, conceding 10.6 fewer points per contest than any other club.
Hird's men also held on to the footy better, ranking second in time-in-possession differential.
They ranked second in disposals and were a dominant No.1 in marks and uncontested possessions.
The Bombers are also moving the ball through the corridor less often, meaning that if they do cough it up it is far easier to push back and defend the danger.
If former prime minister Paul Keating were in charge at Essendon he would say it was "the transformation we had to have".
Dating back to 2004, Essendon's stark inability to stop the leaking has crippled its premiership hopes.
Since 1970, 35 of the 43 premiers have ranked in the top four for points-against.
Forty-two of the 43 have been in the top six for points-against.
The average ranking in points-against for the premiers in this time is between second and third.
The message is clearer than ever before - defence wins premierships.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Friday night football with Sam Edmund
Dengan url
http://kejarpageone.blogspot.com/2013/03/friday-night-football-with-sam-edmund.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Friday night football with Sam Edmund
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Friday night football with Sam Edmund
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar