However, when teams play at an extremely fast or slow pace, those numbers tend to be slightly distorted.
A team may score 90 points for a match, but if it takes them 60 inside 50’s to do so, they’re not utilising their time in the forward half very well.
With that in mind, Champion Data has created a way to find out just which sides are elite, offensively and defensively.
When the time between goals and centre bounces are taken out of the equation, the average match length is close to 100 minutes. So to even out the numbers, both offensive and defensive efficiency are based on a side having 50 minutes in each half during a game.
Here are the efficiency tables for 2013, with the numbers reflecting favourably on North Melbourne.
Offensive Efficiency (Points scored per 50 minutes in forward half) | Defensive Efficiency (Points conceded per 50 minutes in defensive half) | ||||
Club | Total | Rank | Club | Total | Rank |
Hawthorn | 110.5 | 1st | Fremantle | 73.6 | 1st |
North Melbourne | 110.2 | 2nd | Sydney | 80 | 2nd |
Geelong | 102.5 | 3rd | Richmond | 87.5 | 3rd |
Sydney | 99.4 | 4th | North Melbourne | 92.3 | 4th |
Essendon | 99.2 | 5th | Hawthorn | 92.5 | 5th |
Richmond | 98.3 | 6th | Adelaide | 94.3 | 6th |
Carlton | 98.1 | 7th | Gold Coast | 94.7 | 7th |
Collingwood | 96.1 | 8th | Carlton | 96 | 8th |
Western Bulldogs | 94.3 | 9th | Port Adelaide | 96.1 | 9th |
West Coast | 94 | 10th | Geelong | 96.2 | 10th |
Adelaide | 93.6 | 11th | Collingwood | 96.3 | 11th |
Gold Coast | 93.3 | 12th | Brisbane | 97.1 | 12th |
Port Adelaide | 92.5 | 13th | Essendon | 97.7 | 13th |
Fremantle | 92.5 | 14th | St Kilda | 98.5 | 14th |
Brisbane | 92.4 | 15th | West Coast | 102.2 | 15th |
GWS Giants | 89.5 | 16th | Western Bulldogs | 102.7 | 16th |
St Kilda | 86.2 | 17th | Melbourne | 112 | 17th |
Melbourne | 78.7 | 18th | GWS Giants | 118.4 | 18th |
The external expectation would no doubt have been for North to have a lower defensive efficiency than fourth. However if one was to cast an eye back to 2013, it’s two losses that illustrate the improvement.
In successive away games against Gold Coast and Fremantle, North conceded 66 and 67 points. Its defensive work kept it in the game for longer than it probably deserved to be, going by the flow of general play.
To figure out the Roos’ defensive efficiency in these games, it’s quite simple.
v Gold Coast
66 (points conceded) / 64:03 (time in defensive half)
x 50
The result is a very good defensive efficiency of 51.5.
v Fremantle
67 (points conceded) / 56:20 (time in defensive half)
x 50
The result is another quality performance of 59.1.
Both numbers are no doubt unsustainable over a whole season. However in isolation it shows the value of these numbers in explaining how a side being outplayed over the field can stay in the game thanks to the good work of its back six.
Against the Suns, North only trailed by 15 points approaching time on of the final term. Against the Dockers the margin was just 19 points early in the last. On another day, it wouldn’t have been too unexpected to see North rebound with late goals and steal an unlikely victory.
Ranking offensive and defensive efficiency will be a common staple of post-game wraps. Visit NMFC.com.au’s advanced stats page
