statscrunch.files.wordpress.com · Web viewWESTERN BULLDOGS v SYDNEY SWANS. Edited by Nick Fredriksson. 2.30PM, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 | MCG. $1. GRAND FINAL REPORT. THE STATSCRUNCH

WESTERN BULLDOGS v SYDNEY SWANS

2.30PM, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 | MCG

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 3: Season in Review Page 9: Match Preview Page 12: Scoresheet Page 13: Finals in Review Page 15: Stats Page 17: Quiz

Nick Fredriksson

Dedicated to my grandad, Steve, for getting me into footy in the first place. He’s a good bloke, for a Collingwood supporter.

A note to my Twitter fans and those encountering this for the first time:

From 2011 to 2014, when I was in primary school, I ran my year 3-6 (then 4-6) class footy tipping competition. Halfway through 2011, I realised that I needed a way to communicate the results. Because of that, and with the help of my teacher Mrs Johnston, who I’m sure I annoyed countless times throughout the year, I started The Footy Report.

It originally just contained the footy tipping leaderboard, the last week’s results, the next week’s fixture, and the ladder. But, it eventually morphed into something more, and it was soon a multi-page marvel that contained match previews (which I’d shamelessly ripped off the AFL website), statistics, and other joys. In 2013, around the time of the Ashes, it became The Sport Report.

In 2014, I wrote a 14 page preview for that year’s Grand Final, which I sold for a dollar. I made 25 bucks. This is the successor to that, now 21% bigger! Enjoy.

(FYI, Nick Fredriksson is my pseudonym that I use on the Internet. Just clearing it up to you, my real life buddies.)

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2016 Statscrunch Grand Final Report

First published in 2016 by Statscrunch Mediahttps://statscrunch.wordpress.com/

Typeset in Calibri and Book Antiqua

All rights reservedText © 2016 Nick FredrikssonPremiership cup photo from the AFL ShopKieren Jack photo from ZimbioAll other images from AFL Photos

Immense thanks to my dad, Troy, for letting me use his office printer.

This booklet is copyright, and all rights are reserved. If you have the PDF copy of this, you are free to distribute it however you like, but make sure to mention I made it and please don’t sell it, I put a lot of work into this and I don’t want other people profiting off my hard work. (Well, except for my dad. He gets some money for letting me use his printer.)

This booklet was written by Nick Fredriksson. He made Statscrunch. He also has a Twitter account as @NickTheStatsGuy. He supports the Western Bulldogs. He likes statistics, nachos, and writing biographies in the third person. He is a very nice person who would like to talk to you. Since he is privacy conscious and doesn’t want to give out his email or street address in public, you can talk to him on Twitter or via the contact page of his website: https://statscrunch.wordpress.com/contact-me/

Special thanks to John Harms (@ratherbeatlunch) and Andrew Gigacz (@AndrewGigacz) for letting me put my footy stuff on their websites.

Also thanks to my wonderful Twitter followers, especially the ones who contributed to the stats section.

https://statscrunch.wordpress.com/contact-me/

https://statscrunch.wordpress.com/


Season in

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1918: S Melbourne 9.8 (62) d Collingwood 7.15 (57)

1919: Collingwood 11.12 (78) d Richmond 7.11 (53)

1920: Richmond 7.10 (52) d Collingwood 5.5 (35)

1921: Richmond 5.6 (36) d Carlton 4.8 (32)

1922: Fitzroy 11.13 (79) d Collingwood 9.14 (68)

1923: Essendon 8.15 (63) d Fitzroy 6.10 (46)

1924: Essendon premier, Richmond runner-up*

1925: Geelong 10.19 (79) d Collingwood 9.15 (69)

1926: Melbourne 17.17 (119) d Collingwood 9.8 (62)




1930: Collingwood 14.16 (100) d Geelong 9.16 (70)

1931: Geelong 9.14 (68) d Richmond 7.6 (48)


1933: S Melbourne 9.17 (71) d Richmond 4.5 (29)

1934: Richmond 19.14 (128) d S Melbourne 12.17 (89)

1935: Collingwood 11.12 (78) d S Melbourne 7.16 (58)

1936: Collingwood 11.23 (89) d S Melbourne 10.18 (78)


1938: Carlton 15.10 (100) d Collingwood 13.7 (85)

Nick Fredriksson

In the first game of Round 5, Hawthorn became the first team to win three consecutive games by the same margin since 1948 after beating Adelaide. Paul Puopolo kicked a goal from a free kick with a minute remaining, and some argued the free kick wasn’t there, causing #freekickhawthorn to make rounds on the Internet. In the now traditional Anzac Day clash, American Mason Cox replaced the dropped Travis Cloke and kicked the first goal, making worldwide headlines, as Collingwood won by sixty nine points.

The beginning of Round 6 bought an unlikely top of the table clash: North Melbourne against the Western Bulldogs. The Kangaroos won a low-scoring game to remain at a 6-0 record. GWS gave Hawthorn their biggest loss since 2008, beating them by 75 points, and Sydney was pushed by a plucky Brisbane.

In round 7, for reasons unknown, the AFL had six Saturday games. Carlton upset Collingwood, the Bulldogs got revenge on Adelaide for the 2015 elimination final, and St Kilda was close to North Melbourne, but lost at the death, with the Kangaroos staying undefeated.

Round 8 was the highlight of the season for Richmond. They played hard against Sydney,

but were five points down late in the game

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1940: Melbourne 15.17 (107) d Richmond 10.8 (68)

1941: Melbourne 19.13 (127) d Essendon 13.20 (98)

1942: Essendon 19.18 (132) d Richmond 11.13 (79)

1943: Richmond 12.14 (86) d Essendon 11.15 (81)

1944: Fitzroy 9.12 (66) d Richmond 7.9 (51)

1945: Carlton 15.13 (103) d S Melbourne 10.15 (75)

1946: Essendon 22.18 (150) d Melbourne 13.9 (87)

1947: Carlton 13.8 (86) d Essendon 11.19 (85)

1948: Melbourne 10.9 (69) v Essendon 7.27 (69)

1948 replay*: Melbourne 13.11 (89) d Essendon 7.8 (50)

1949: Essendon 18.17 (125) d Carlton 6.16 (52)

1950: Essendon 13.14 (92) d N Melbourne 7.12 (54)

1951: Geelong 11.15 (81) d Essendon 10.10 (70)



1954: Footscray 15.12 (102) d Melbourne 7.9 (51)




1958: Collingwood 12.10 (82) d Melbourne 9.10 (64)

*In 1948, 1977, and 2010, the Grand Final was a draw, requiring a replay to be held the next week. In April 2016, the AFL Commission decided that any future


Round 8 was the highlight of the season for Richmond. They played hard against Sydney, but were five points down late in the game when Sam Lloyd took a mark. The siren sounded, but Lloyd calmly took the shot to give Richmond a one-point win.

In round nine, Hawthorn faced off against Sydney at the MCG, in what some were tipping as a Grand Final preview. Inaccurate kicking cost Hawthorn in a low-scoring game. North Melbourne remained undefeated, and Fremantle remained winless.

Two months into the season, in the first game of Round 10, North Melbourne lost for

the first time, being

outplayed by Sydney, who looked dangerous with an 8-2 record. Richmond’s recent good form continued, winning their third game in a row against Essendon.

North Melbourne bounced back to their winning ways in Round 11 with a thrashing of Richmond, while Fremantle got off the ground, beating Essendon by 89 points. Geelong got revenge on GWS, winning a narrow game at Kardinia Park.

Fremantle won their second game in a row in Round 12, thrashing Brisbane. The Bulldogs

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1940: Melbourne 15.17 (107) d Richmond 10.8 (68)


1942: Essendon 19.18 (132) d Richmond 11.13 (79)

1943: Richmond 12.14 (86) d Essendon 11.15 (81)

1944: Fitzroy 9.12 (66) d Richmond 7.9 (51)

1945: Carlton 15.13 (103) d S Melbourne 10.15 (75)



1948: Melbourne 10.9 (69) v Essendon 7.27 (69)

1948 replay*: Melbourne 13.11 (89) d Essendon 7.8 (50)


1950: Essendon 13.14 (92) d N Melbourne 7.12 (54)

1951: Geelong 11.15 (81) d Essendon 10.10 (70)



1954: Footscray 15.12 (102) d Melbourne 7.9 (51)




1958: Collingwood 12.10 (82) d Melbourne 9.10 (64)

*In 1948, 1977, and 2010, the Grand Final was a draw, requiring a replay to be held the next week. In April 2016, the AFL Commission decided that any future

Nick Fredriksson

narrowly beat Port Adelaide, and Melbourne won their first Queen’s Birthday game against Collingwood in a decade.

Round 13 was the start of the bye rounds, and not much of note happened, but Hawthorn beat North Melbourne in a close game, meaning North had gone from 9-0 to 10-3.

In round 14, ABC commentator Gerard Whateley noted that all of the teams that had had the bye the previous week played teams that hadn’t. This may have been a factor in St Kilda’s upset three-point victory over Geelong.

In round 15, the Bulldogs went back to the scene of their famous victory of Sydney from last year and repeated the same, with a thrilling victory capped by a Jason Johannisen goal on his return from injury. Collingwood also beat Carlton in a low scoring encounter.

Round 16 was back to the nine games, and Hawthorn continued on their good form with a Thursday night victory over Port Adelaide. They had a 12-3 record and sat a game clear on top of the ladder, seemingly on an inexorable march to a fourth premiership in a row.

This was consolidated the next week, when Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli kicked two late goals to give the Hawks a five-point victory over their closest opponents, Sydney. Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs remained within a game, however.

In a stroke of luck for Hawthorn, both of those teams would lose in Round 18, in two vastly different circumstances. Adelaide was outplayed by Geelong at Kardinia Park, but the Bulldogs’ loss was the real heartbreaker. They didn’t kick a goal in the final term against St Kilda, and Jack Redpath did his ACL, as well as Mitch Wallis breaking his leg, to continue the Dogs’ horror run with injuries.

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1961: Hawthorn 13.16 (94) d Footscray 7.9 (51)


1963: Geelong 15.19 (109) d Hawthorn 8.12 (60)


1965: Essendon 14.21 (105) d St Kilda 9.16 (70)

1966: St Kilda 10.14 (74) d Collingwood 10.13 (73)

1967: Richmond 16.18 (114) d Geelong 15.15 (105)




1971: Hawthorn 12.10 (82) d St Kilda 11.9 (75)

1972: Carlton 28.9 (177) d Richmond 22.18 (150)


1974: Richmond 18.20 (128) d N Melbourne 13.9 (87)

1975: N Melbourne 19.8 (122) d Hawthorn 9.13 (67)

1976: Hawthorn 13.22 (100) d N Melbourne 10.10 (70)

1977: Collingwood 10.16 (76) v N Melbourne 9.22 (76)

1977 replay*: N Melbourne 21.25 (151) d Collingwood 19.10 (124)

*In 1948, 1977, and 2010, the Grand Final was a draw, requiring a replay to be held the next week. In April 2016, the AFL Commission decided that any future drawn Grand Finals would be decided in extra time.

(105) d N Melbourne 8.22 (70)

1999: N Melbourne 19.10 (124) d Carlton 12.17 (89)


In Round 19, Richmond kicked just 3.5 (23) for the afternoon against GWS, both highlighting the Giants’ credentials (at this point, they were 13-5 and second on the ladder) and Richmond’s deficiencies (it was their sixth-lowest score of all time. But the biggest news for the round was Brent Harvey playing his 427th AFL game, breaking the record set by Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck 25 years ago. North Melbourne obliged by beating St Kilda and consolidating a place in the finals.

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1983: Hawthorn 20.20 (140) d Essendon 8.9 (57)

1984: Essendon 14.21 (105) d Hawthorn 12.9 (81)


1986: Hawthorn 16.14 (110) d Carlton 9.14 (68)

1987: Carlton 15.14 (104) d Hawthorn 9.17 (71)

1988: Hawthorn 22.20 (152) d Melbourne 6.20 (56)

1989: Hawthorn 21.18 (144) d Geelong 21.12 (138)

1990: Collingwood 13.11 (89) d Essendon 5.11 (41)

1991: Hawthorn 20.19 (139) d West Coast 13.8 (86)

1992: West Coast 16.17 (113) d Geelong 12.13 (85)



1995: Carlton 21.15 (141) d Geelong 11.14 (80)

1996: N Melbourne 19.17 (131) d Sydney 13.10 (88)

1997: Adelaide 19.11 (125) d St Kilda 13.16 (94)

1998: Adelaide 15.15

Nick Fredriksson

Heading into the final month of the season at the start of Round 20, Adelaide proved they were a force to be reckoned with the biggest win of the season, a 138-point thrashing of Brisbane. Melbourne upset Hawthorn, thus putting the Hawks’ minor premiership chances at risk. They were a game clear of all of Sydney, Adelaide, GWS, and Geelong, but any slip would knock them off top.

Collingwood, for the second time in a season, gave it their all against the Bulldogs in Round 21, only to fall just short, losing by three

points. West Coast beat GWS by one point, with Nic Naitanui kicking a goal with seconds to go, keeping their top four hopes alive. Geelong was pushed against Richmond, and Essendon ended a seventeen game losing

streak, the longest in the club’s history, beating an inaccurate Gold Coast by a goal.

In round 22, West Coast got revenge, beating Hawthorn and knocking them off the top of the ladder, but it came at a cost with Naitanui doing his ACL. Adam Cooney announced his retirement due to persistent knee injuries, and played his final game for Essendon against his old club, where he had won a Brownlow, the Western Bulldogs. Melbourne had the chance to keep their slim finals hopes alive, but lost to Carlton. The top four all had the same number of points heading into Round 23.

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1983: Hawthorn 20.20 (140) d Essendon 8.9 (57)



1986: Hawthorn 16.14 (110) d Carlton 9.14 (68)

1987: Carlton 15.14 (104) d Hawthorn 9.17 (71)

1988: Hawthorn 22.20 (152) d Melbourne 6.20 (56)


1990: Collingwood 13.11 (89) d Essendon 5.11 (41)





1995: Carlton 21.15 (141) d Geelong 11.14 (80)

1996: N Melbourne 19.17 (131) d Sydney 13.10 (88)

1997: Adelaide 19.11 (125) d St Kilda 13.16 (94)

1998: Adelaide 15.15


2001: Brisbane 15.18 (108) d Essendon 12.10 (82)

2002: Brisbane 10.15 (75) d Collingwood 9.12 (66)

2003: Brisbane 20.14 (134) d Collingwood 12.12 (84)

2004: Pt Adelaide 17.11 (113) d Brisbane 10.13 (73)

2005: Sydney 8.10 (58) d West Coast 7.12 (54)

2006: West Coast 12.13 (85) d Sydney 12.12 (84)

2007: Geelong 24.19 (163) d Pt Adelaide 6.8 (44)


2009: Geelong 12.8 (80) d St Kilda 9.14 (68)

2010: Collingwood 9.14 (68) v St Kilda 10.8 (68)

2010 replay*: Collingwood 16.12 (108) d St Kilda 7.10 (52)


2012: Sydney 14.7 (91) d Hawthorn 11.15 (81)

2013: Hawthorn 11.11 (77) d Fremantle 8.14 (62)

2014: Hawthorn 21.11 (137) d Sydney 11.8 (74)


*In 1948, 1977, and 2010, the Grand Final was a draw, requiring a replay to be held the next week. In April 2016, the AFL Commission decided that any future drawn Grand Finals would be decided in extra time.


In the final round of the season, West Coast, for the third week in a row, beat a top four side, travelling to Adelaide. They kicked five goals to none in the third quarter to set up a victory. Paul Roos’ final game as a coach was one to forget, losing by 111 points to Geelong. That wasn’t even the largest margin of the day, as Sydney beat Richmond by 113 in a finals tone up. GWS comfortably beat a North Melbourne team rocked by the announcement that Brent Harvey, Nick Dal Santo, Drew Petrie and Aaron Firrito would be delisted at season’s end, and Essendon gave themselves a chance of not finishing last with a win over Carlton. As it turned out, Essendon did finish last, as Brisbane scored enough to keep their percentage high enough. This was by no fault of Nick Riewoldt, who, in his last game before stepping aside as St Kilda captain, kicked nine goals and took twenty-one marks. And, in the last game of the home and away season, Fremantle sent Matthew Pavlich off in style, with him kicking his 700th career goal in an upset win over the Western Bulldogs.

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Nick Fredriksson

Match PreviewThe two teams competing in this year’s Grand Final have certainly had two different paths to the Grand Final. The Swans were the best team throughout the entire home and away season, being outside of the top four only once and finishing comfortably on top of the ladder. Despite a hiccup against GWS in the first qualifying final, they have comfortably beaten Adelaide and Geelong, and go into the Grand Final as favourites, looking to consolidate as one of the best teams of the 2010s, behind Hawthorn.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have also spent much of the season at the top, but have been a fair way off the upper echelon. On their day, they have been able to beat anyone, but the main perception had them a fair way off Geelong, Hawthorn, and, indeed, Sydney. They finished the home and away season in seventh, and were expected to be eliminated quickly. Instead, they have had three upset wins in three weeks, against West Coast, the reigning premiers Hawthorn, and the GWS Giants, and have qualified for their first Grand Final in 55 years. The whole of Victoria seems to be riding the Bulldogs bandwagon, but for them to end the longest premiership drought in the AFL, they have to beat Sydney, who are the deserved favourites.

The two teams have already met once this year, in Round 15 at the SCG. The game was a thriller, with the lead changing seven times and the Bulldogs not prevailing until the last minute of the match, Jason Johannisen capping off his return from injury after a three-month layoff by kicking the winning goal. If the Grand Final is anywhere near as close as that game, it’ll be one for the ages.

One of the most important things that we learnt from that game is that accuracy is king. The Swans had six more scoring shots than the Bulldogs, and still lost the game. The same thing happened to them in the 2015 qualifying final against Fremantle, which led to their straight-sets elimination. The team with the lowest scoring accuracy this year, Essendon, kicked at 46%, the only team that had accuracy below 50%. In six of the past eight Grand Finals, the losing team has kicked with less accuracy than that. And in four of those, had the losing team

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kicked more goals than behinds, instead of more behinds than goals, they would have won. (In addition, Collingwood would have won in 2010 without the need for a replay had they kicked straighter in the first game.) Sydney is the more accurate team amongst the two, but they can’t afford to kick as poorly as they did last time.

Sydney were the best defending team in the AFL for this season, and their defensive lineup is full of talent. It includes the All-Australian Dane Rampe, who will play his 98th game in just his fourth season on Saturday. He’s just one in a defensive lineup that doesn’t have many names that scream ‘elite player’, yet is full of them, including Heath Grundy, Jeremy Laidler, Nick Smith, and 2016

debutants Aliir Aliir and Harrison Marsh. This doesn’t include Jarrad McVeigh, who injured his calf in the semi-final and may not play in the Grand Final.

The Bulldogs forward line isn’t at the standard to overcome this. Yes, they have good players in Jake Stringer, Jack Macrae, Tory Dickson, and Tom Boyd, but they’re not going to be able to overcome Sydney. Stringer, in particular, is one of the worries for the Bulldogs. After the 56 goals he scored in 2015, he was considered an outside chance for the Coleman Medal, but, after getting off to a good start and getting five goals in the first game, hasn’t performed as well as a player of his calibre should be. Being dropped on the eve of the finals may have been a masterstroke by Luke Beveridge, after the three goals he kicked in

the semi-final victory over Hawthorn, but he’ll want to kick at least that against Sydney if the Dogs are going to seriously challenge.

Tom Boyd has been of even more concern than Jake Stringer. The Bulldogs have paid him two million dollars over the last two years, and he has played twenty eight games and kicked twenty six goals. A forward of his potential, being placed at full forward, should not be kicking less than one goal per game. He spent half the season in the VFL, but has played every game since Round 17. For him to vindicate the faith and money the Dogs put in him, he must fire.

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Nick Fredriksson

Tory Dickson and Clay Smith kicked eight of the Bulldogs’ thirteen goals last weekend, but Caleb Daniel, Macrae, Boyd, Stringer, and Liam Picken all need to get on the scoreboard, and I can’t see the Bulldogs doing that. Sydney will be too good for them.

Sydney’s defence is the best in the AFL, but the Bulldogs are up there as well, ranked third for points conceded. Easton Wood has been an inspirational captain in Robert Murphy’s absence, as well as a handy defender, Matthew Boyd was picked for the All-Australian team, Dale Morris has continued the good form he’s been in since returning from leg injuries in 2013, and Jason Johannisen has provided plenty of run on either side of his hamstring injury. The recruitment of Matthew Suckling from Hawthorn has also been a masterstroke.

Sydney’s attacking lineup is also good, however. Lance Franklin is, as per the norm, in near-unstoppable form, kicking 80 goals in a season for the first time since 2011. Luke Parker, Ben McGlynn, and Tom Papley have all been heavily contributing, Papley in his debut season. However, I’m going to have to pick the Bulldog defence to edge out this matchup, just.

Onto the midfield, and we’ve got a hell of a match up here. The Western Bulldogs are led, in the centre of the ground, by the one and only Marcus Bontempelli. He’s being considered an outside chance for the Brownlow (if you’re reading this after Monday night, I wrote this on Sunday), and is the best young talent in the AFL. He’ll be up against Josh Kennedy, a descendant of the great Hawthorn coach, and a player who was crucial in the Swans 2012 triumph. It’s hard to pick a winner amongst these two.

You’ve got Isaac Heeney and Lachie Hunter, you have Kieren Jack and Luke Dahlhaus, you have Daniel Hannebery and Tom Liberatore. These matchups are unbelievable, and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.

The one contest that could be crucial is the ruck matchup. Sam Naismith and Kurt Tippett have been serving Sydney well, and with doubts over Jordan

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Roughead’s availability, the Bulldogs could be relying on Tom Boyd and one of Will Minson (2 games this year) or Tom Campbell (no games since Round 13). This could play to Sydney’s advantage.

FINAL PREDICTION: The even midfield contest, as well as the Bulldogs defence being level with Sydney’s attack, means that the Swans forward line will give them the victory in this game. I’ve been wrong on the Bulldogs all finals, though. Sydney by 16.

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Nick Fredriksson

Scoresheet & PredictionsWESTERN BULLDOGS SYDNEY SWANS

# Player Goals Behinds # Player Goals Behinds4 Marcus

Bontempelli1 James Rose

5 Matthew Boyd 4 Daniel Hannebery

6 Luke Dahlhaus 5 Isaac Heeney7 Lachie Hunter 6 Tom Mitchell9 Jake Stringer 7 Harry Cunningham10

Easton Wood 8 Kurt Tippett

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Jack Macrae 10

Zak Jones

12

Zaine Cordy 11

Jeremy Laidler

14

Clay Smith 12

Josh Kennedy

15

Tom Campbell 13

Toby Nankervis

16

Toby McLean 15

Kieren Jack

17

Tom Boyd 16

Gary Rohan

18

Fletcher Roberts

21

Ben McGlynn

19

Lukas Webb 23

Lance Franklin

20

Josh Dunkley 24

Dane Rampe

21

Tom Liberatore

26

Luke Parker

23

Jordan Roughead

29

George Hewett

24

Shane Biggs 31

Harrison Marsh

29

Tory Dickson 35

Sam Naismith

30

Joel Hamling 36

Aliir Aliir

35

Caleb Daniel 39

Heath Grundy

37

Roarke Smith 40

Nick Smith

38

Dale Morris 41

Tom Papley

39

Jason Johannisen

42

Xavier Richards

42

Liam Picken 44

Jake Lloyd

Rushed Rushed

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QTR TIME HALF TIME 3 QTR TIME

FULL TIME QTR TIME HALF TIME 3 QTR TIME

FULL TIME

These are the teams from the preliminary final, plus emergencies. Any changes since then, you’re going to have to make yourself. Sorry.

Predictions

NameWinnerMarginMost disposalsMost goalsNorm Smith

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Nick Fredriksson

Finals in ReviewThe first game of the finals was held on a Thursday night at Subiaco, between the West Coast Eagles and the Western Bulldogs. West Coast was tipped to beat the Bulldogs comfortably, and things looked on plan when they kicked the first two goals. But then the Bulldogs kicked the next seven on route to a 47 point victory, with pocket rocket Caleb Daniel scoring or assisting seven of the Dogs’ fourteen goals.

The Friday night game saw a game we’d all been waiting for, Hawthorn against Geelong. Geelong led by three points when Hawthorn’s Isaac Smith took a mark 40m out. The siren sounded, leading him to kick for goal to win the

game. He missed. Some celebrated the end of the Hawthorn dynasty, others pointed out that they’d gone the long way around last year.

The Saturday afternoon game was Greater Western Sydney’s first final, and who better to play it against than their cross-town rivals the Swans? In a tough, physical game, where Steve Johnson was suspended, Shane Mumford got off with a fine, and Kurt Tippett and Callum Mills (fresh off winning the Rising Star award) were injured. GWS cut off Sydney’s momentum constantly, and won through to their first preliminary final.

The last game of the first week of the finals was between Adelaide and North Melbourne, and, as predicted, Adelaide were the clear winners. North Melbourne would have been disappointed to send off Harvey et al in the way they did, but they were beaten by an Eddie Betts masterclass.

The second week of the finals started with a Friday night battle between the current kings of the league, Hawthorn, against their heirs apparent, the Western Bulldogs. In a reprise of their Round 3 classic, Hawthorn had the better of the first quarter and a half, but from then on,

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the Bulldogs fought back hard. Led by Jake Stringer, who kicked three goals on his way to prove his critics wrong, the Dogs swamped Hawthorn in the second half to win by 23 points, dethrone the reigning premiers, and make their way to a preliminary final against GWS.

The other final had vastly less attention paid to it, but was still important. Sydney outplayed Adelaide from the outset, cruising to a 36 point victory that would take them to a preliminary final against Geelong.

The first preliminary final was played on Friday night at the MCG, the first time Geelong and Sydney had met at that venue since 1934. Like in 1934, the Swans hammered Geelong, as they kicked seven goals to none in the first quarter, their highest scoring finals quarter in history, on the path to a 37 point victory and their third Grand Final in five years. It may have come at a price, however, with Aliir Aliir injuring his knee and being in doubt for the Grand Final.

And the penultimate game of the season, a Saturday twilight between the Giants and the Bulldogs, was an absolute thriller, where the lead changed six times and never got higher than 14 points. The Bulldogs had just two goalscorers in the first half, but still led by nine points. GWS had the most of the third quarter, shooting to a seven point lead, before Caleb Daniel kicked a late goal to set it up to be the narrowest of margins. The two teams went goal for goal in the last quarter, until, at the final siren, the Bulldogs were five points up. Tory Dickson had a set shot after the siren, which he missed, but no one cared. The Bulldogs were through to the Grand Final.

17

Norm Smith Medallists

1979: Wayne Harmes (CARL)

1980: Kevin Bartlett (RICH) 1981: Bruce Doull (CARL) 1982: Maurice Rioli (RICH) 1983: Colin Robertson

(HAW) 1984: Billy Duckworth (ESS) 1985: Simon Madden (ESS) 1986: Gary Ayres (HAW) 1987: David Rhys-Jones

(CARL) 1988: Gary Ayres (HAW) 1989: Gary Ablett (GEEL) 1990: Tony Shaw (COLL) 1991: Paul Dear (HAW) 1992: Peter Matera (WCE) 1993: Michael Long (ESS) 1994: Dean Kemp (WCE) 1995: Greg Williams (CARL) 1996: Glenn Archer (NM) 1997: Andrew McLeod

(ADEL) 1998: Andrew McLeod

(ADEL) 1999: Shannon Grant (NM) 2000: James Hird (ESS) 2001: Shaun Hart (BL) 2002: Nathan Buckley

(COLL) 2003: Simon Black (BL) 2004: Byron Pickett (PT A) 2005: Chris Judd (WCE) 2006: Andrew Embley

(WCE) 2007: Steve Johnson (GEEL) 2008: Luke Hodge (HAW) 2009: Paul Chapman (GEEL) 2010: Lenny Hayes (ST K) 2010 replay: Scott

Pendlebury (COLL) 2011: Jimmy Bartel (GEEL) 2012: Ryan O’Keefe (SYD) 2013: Brian Lake (HAW) 2014: Luke Hodge (HAW) 2015: Cyril Rioli (HAW)

Nick Fredriksson

Grand Final StatisticsAll of these statistics are accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Now that the substitute rule is no more, I think we should honour James Podsiadly (Geelong), Shane Mumford (Sydney), Max Bailey (Hawthorn), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) and David Hale (Hawthorn), as players who were substituted off in a premiership team.

In 2007, Port Adelaide won their preliminary final by 87 points, before losing the grand final by 119 points, a 206 point turnaround. This is the third biggest negative turnaround of all time. (Thanks @100poundsmuscle.)

Last year’s grand final had ten players with a surname beginning with S, more than any other year. Hawthorn had Suckling, Smith, Stratton, Schoenmakers and Shiels, while West Coast had Sheed, Sheppard, Selwood, Shuey, and Sinclair.

On the flip side, 1902, 1927, 1928, 1930, and 1960 had zero players starting with S. (Thanks @AndrewGigacz for both name statistics.)

Each Richmond premiership coach was present at the club’s previous premiership win. (Thanks @rhettrospective.)

In only seven Grand Finals have both teams recorded a prime score: 1903, 1904, 1910, 1933, 1990, 2004, and 2015. (Thanks @MatterOfStats.)

Richmond’s score of 22.18 (150) in the 1972 Grand Final would have won or tied every Grand Final to that point…but they lost by 27 points.

The lowest combined score in a Grand Final, 38 (Collingwood & Richmond in 1927), is lower than all but three subsequent scores.

The longest streak of Grand Finals without any team playing in two in a row is six, from 1960 to 1965.

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Teams by Grand Final Win-Loss Record

Adelaide: 2 played, 2 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses

Brisbane: 4-3-0-1 Carlton: 29-16-0-13 Collingwood: 44-15-2-

26 Essendon: 29-14-1-14 Fitzroy: 13-8-0-5 Fremantle: 1-0-0-1 Geelong: 17-9-0-8 Gold Coast: 0-0-0-0 GWS Giants: 0-0-0-0 Hawthorn: 19-13-0-6 Melbourne: 18-12-1-5 N Melbourne: 10-4-1-5 Pt Adelaide: 2-1-0-1 Richmond: 21-10-0-11 St Kilda: 8-1-1-6 Sydney: 16-5-0-11 University: 0-0-0-0 West Coast: 6-3-0-3 W Bulldogs: 2-1-0-1

Teams by First Grand Final Result

WON LOSTFitzroy (1898) Essendon (1898)Melbourne (1900) S Melbourne

(1899)Geelong (1925) Collingwood

(1901)Footscray (1954) Carlton (1904)Hawthorn (1961) St Kilda (1913)Adelaide (1997) Richmond (1919)Brisbane (2001) N Melbourne

(1974)Pt Adelaide West Coast


From the six year period from 2003 to 2008, six different teams won a premiership. This is the longest streak of that sort, tied with 1963 to 1968.

There have been 120 Grand Finals played, and only 18 of them haven’t had the minor premier playing.

The lowest combined positions for Grand Finals are when third played fifth (1980) and second played sixth (1999).

The median year for maiden premierships is 1954. Eight teams won their first premiership before 1954, and eight teams have won their first premiership after it.

In 1979, Alex Jesaulenko captain-coached Carlton to a premiership, the last person to do so.

Mick Grace is the only person to play in multiple premierships for multiple teams, winning the 1898-1899 Grand Finals for Fitzroy and the 1906-07 Grand Finals for Carlton.

Melbourne won the flag in 1900, and finished runners up in 2000 a century later. Essendon won the 1901 flag, and finished runners up in 2001. Collingwood won the 1902 and 1903 flags, and finished second in both 2002 and 2003. And Brisbane lost the Grand Final in 2004, whereas Fitzroy had won it in 1904. (Thanks @insightlane.)

Out of Geelong’s nine premierships, eight of them have been in odd numbered years.

Bill James (Richmond), George Rawle (Essendon), and Fred Vine (Melbourne) all made their playing debut in a Grand Final, in 1920, 1923, and 1926. James only played the one game.

Albert Lauder, of Collingwood, played just 36 games over six seasons, yet played in the 1928, 1929, and 1930 premierships. Through his entire playing career, he experienced four losses.

Five people have played in a premiership before their 18th

birthday: Murray Weideman (Collingwood, 1953), Brian Leahy (Melbourne, 1960), Cameron Clayton (Richmond, 1974), Charlie Payne (Essendon, 1962) and Allan Davis (St Kilda, 1966).

Only one set of three brothers have played in a premiership: Mick, Bill, and Pat Twomey, all of

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Nick Fredriksson

who played in Collingwood’s 1953 premiership. (I am distantly related to the Twomeys, via marriage).

The most seasons between a player playing in a premiership and that player retiring is 22. Dustin Fletcher played in the 1993 premiership for Essendon, and retired in 2015, having played exactly 400 games.

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ANSWERS: c, b, d, b, c, a & d, b, a, a, d


Grand Final QuizHere, for a bit of fun, you can see how well you know Grand Final trivia. Make sure to take on your friends.

1. What is the most recent year the Grand Final wasn’t played at the MCG?a) 1971 b) 1981 c) 1991 d) 2001

2. Which current AFL coach has a grandfather who played in Collingwood’s 1927-1930 premierships?a) Leon Cameron b) Luke Beveridge c) John Longmire d) Chris Scott

3. Who has played in the most Grand Final losses?a) Dick Reynolds b) Gordon Coventry c) Gary Ablett Sr d) Jack Titus

4. In 1928, Gordon Coventry kicked the most goals ever scored by one player in a Grand Final. How many goals did he score?a) 8 b) 9 c) 10 d) 11

5. Before Hawthorn won their first premiership in 1961, how many Grand Finals had Collingwood won?a) 11 b) 12 c) 13 d) 14

6. Which two players have the most behinds in Grand Finals?a) Dermott Brereton b) Lance Franklin c) Leigh Matthews d) Kevin Bartlett

7. Only one club has won a Grand Final exactly doubling their opponents score. Who was it, and in what year?a) Collingwood, 1990 b) Footscray, 1954 c) Geelong, 1963 d) Richmond, 1974

8. Who has the most disposals in a Grand Final?a) Simon Black b) Jordan Lewis c) Robert Harvey d) Gary Ablett Jr

9. Which club has the highest Grand Final score that is a prime number?a) Geelong b) Adelaide c) Carlton d) N Melbourne

10.Which of these players has not won both a Norm Smith and a Brownlow?a) James Hird b) Chris Judd c) Jimmy Bartel d) Sam Mitchell

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Documents

statscrunch.files.wordpress.com · Web viewWESTERN BULLDOGS v SYDNEY SWANS. Edited by Nick Fredriksson. 2.30PM, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 | MCG. $1. GRAND FINAL REPORT. THE STATSCRUNCH