Tweet
Link: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...10-140ffq.html
It's what you do with it that counts
It's almost become a cliche in rugby league these days for coaches and players to cite the goals of completing their sets of six and getting to their kicks as their major objectives in any game.
I've never been a fan of using "completion rates" as the yardstick for a team's performance. Sure you have to control the ball, but for mine the notion of controlling the ball is a lot more than just holding onto it for five tackles before you kick.
The most intriguing statistics from round one were surely those concerning completion rates. Only four teams had a completion rate below 69 per cent. Yet those four teams – Roosters (61per cent), Souths (66 per cent), Parramatta (68 per cent) and Penrith (68 per cent) were easily the most impressive winners. Between them they scored 42 per cent of the round one tries.
Conversely, the most disappointing team of the weekend – Manly – had the best completion rate (80 per cent) of all 16 teams. While coaches constantly talk about striving for high completion rates, the results on the weekend prove yet again that it is far more important what you do with the ball when you have it, rather than how many times in a match you get to a last-tackle kick.
It's what you do with it that counts
It's almost become a cliche in rugby league these days for coaches and players to cite the goals of completing their sets of six and getting to their kicks as their major objectives in any game.
I've never been a fan of using "completion rates" as the yardstick for a team's performance. Sure you have to control the ball, but for mine the notion of controlling the ball is a lot more than just holding onto it for five tackles before you kick.
The most intriguing statistics from round one were surely those concerning completion rates. Only four teams had a completion rate below 69 per cent. Yet those four teams – Roosters (61per cent), Souths (66 per cent), Parramatta (68 per cent) and Penrith (68 per cent) were easily the most impressive winners. Between them they scored 42 per cent of the round one tries.
Conversely, the most disappointing team of the weekend – Manly – had the best completion rate (80 per cent) of all 16 teams. While coaches constantly talk about striving for high completion rates, the results on the weekend prove yet again that it is far more important what you do with the ball when you have it, rather than how many times in a match you get to a last-tackle kick.
Comment