Round 10: Gigs’ stat declaration

By Andrew Gigacz

 

With the World Twenty20 due to start this week, the mind of the sports fan is turning towards cricket. Of course in the quick-fix form of the game the focus is on runs, not wickets. And as if in anticipation of the event, Round 10 was full of runs of its own:

 

  • After conceding the first two goals of the match to Sydney, the Doggies had a run of 13 consecutive goals from the middle of the first quarter to early in the third.
  • At Docklands, the Demons were 6.6 at the 25-minute mark of the 2nd quarter, and were still 6.6 at the 1-minute mark of the last. In that time the Saints had a run of 8 shots at goal for a return of 3.5. And from half way through the 3rd quarter until the end of the match, we had a long run of behinds. with St Kilda getting 8 and Melbourne 4. The sequence was broken by a solitary goal from McQualter
  • On Friday night at the same venue, Carlton had a run of 9 consecutive scoring shots after West Coast opened the 2nd term with a behind.
  • At Footy Park, Adelaide got on a roll in the first quarter and kicked 5.1 without the Hawks troubling the scorers in that period.
  • North and Brisbane had a run of 10 goals between them without a miss (apart from one rushed behind) in the third and final quarters.
  • A similar story at Subiaco with 12 consecutive goals between Freo and Richmond and no misses (apart from a rushed behind) from late in the 2nd term to the start of the last. This run include a string of 8 consecutive goals to the Tigers.
  • Geelong had a run of seven majors in a row after Essendon kicked the first of the game at Etihad. Stevie J had everyone on the run in the 3rd quarter, kicking four of his own.
  • And in the last match of the round both Collingwood and Port Adelaide had the runs. A run of 12 goals straight (including 9 from the Pies) from earlier in the third quarter and early in the last was broken only by a couple of rushed behinds. Then Ebert missed for Port and this started a run of 8 behinds punctuated by a single goal from Danyle Pearce.

 

CLUSTER BLUSTER

 

Two sets of clusters in the scoring department this week. In the 110’s we had 111,112,114,115 and 117, while around the 80 mark we had 76, 77, 79, 81 and 83. Unsurprisingly this led to a cluster of margins around the 40 mark: 37, 38, 40 and 41.

 

“ALL WE WANT IS CONSISTENCY…”

 

Well if that’s all you want then the North MelbourneBrisbane game was the one for you. In that match it was almost Groundhog Day every quarter, with Brisbane winning the first quarter 4 goals to 3, taking the second quarter 4 goals to 3 and surprising no-one in scoring 4 goals to 3 in the third quarter. North kept up their part of the bargain in the last quarter but the Lions fell one goal short.

 

GIGS’ ROUND 10 “CAN WE HELP?” IMPERSONATION

 

Such was North’s consistency in that match, they were only a single point away from having an identical scoreline in every quarter. Their breakdown was 3.3, 3.2, 3.2, 3.2. This prompted fellow Knacker Peter Flynn to ask if we have ever had a case of a team attaining an identical score in all quarters of a match. The answer to this puzzling postulation is: possibly. The question has become the subject of Gig-Dig No. 3 and I can report that I’ve gone through seasons 1897-1933 and haven’t found a case. However, I have found three occurrences of a team being a single point away from that momentous achievement.

 

In 1899, St Kilda showed remarkable consistency in having a quarter by quarter breakdown of  0.1, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0. Unfortunately their reward for such an even performance was a loss to Geelong by 161 points. Nine years later, the Saints were at it again, scoring 2.1, 2.1, 2.0, 2.1 against Melbourne. They lost that game also, but only by 56 points. In 1923, Richmond scored 2.2, 2.3, 2.3, 2.3 against Carlton. Their consistency was rewarded and they won.

 

More news on Gig-Dig No. 3 after my brain regains its’ feeling.

 

Got a question for Gigs? Post a comment and let Gig Dig No. 4 begin!

 

THE MARGINAL MEDAL.

 

The logjam in the lead for this prestigious award just got even loggier (or should that be jammier?) with 38 joining six other margins on three. They are 4, 8, 17, 19, 22 and 43. The other interesting thing to note about this years margins is that we haven’t yet had a 100-point game this season. The last time we had an entire season without a 100-point margin was 2003. We did, however, have three draws that year. This year we are deficient at both ends of the spectrum, with no draws or 1-point or 2-point games. The last time that happened… will have to be the subject of yet another Gig-Dig.

 

SCORE WARS – Round 9 Update

 

Not much change at the top here. 90 still leads with six, while Carlton scored a Nelson to take 111 to equal second alongside 104 and 116. 77 and 46 made their first appearances of the season. It was the first time since 2007 we’ve seen 46.

 

POSTCODE OF THE WEEK

 

The way the Eagles played against the Blues on Friday night, one could be forgiven for thinking their minds were on the flight back to Perth. And their quarter by quarter goal score of 3, 0, 4, 3 actually provides evidence of that. 3043 is the postcode of Tullamarine…

 

THIS WEEK’S RIDICULOUS FOOTY ANAGRAM:

 

One player having a great season is St Kilda’s Nick Dal Santo. Nick figures heavily in the current Brownlow betting calculations and deservedly so. One of his great attributes is his ability to avoid a tackle. In fact the great Jimmy Hird, in his Herald-Sun column on April 18th, said: “As an opponent he was impossible to tackle, his ability to work his way through traffic was outstanding and made many a player look stupid as he side-stepped his way though the pack.” Which is fitting praise, as Nick Dal Santo is an anagram of “A NON-STICK LAD”…

About Andrew Gigacz

Well, here we are. The Bulldogs have won a flag. What do I do now?

Comments

  1. Peter Schumacher says

    Fantastic stats, as ever, wish that I could think of a suitable, no, any, anagram of Andrew Gigacz.

  2. Steve Healy says

    I picked up the North Melbourne V Brisbane goal sequence while I was listening to the game. I really wanted the lions to get another goal in the final stage.

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