Gigs’ Stats: Gigs’ Round 7 Stat Declaration

by Andrew Gigacz

 

 

They say a week’s a long time in footy but what about 100 years? It was about this time last century that Geelong and St Kilda were the embarrassment of the VFL, becoming two of only three teams in history to lose to University by more than 50 points. Now, a mere 5,208 weeks later, the Saints and the Cats are three games clear of the pack after round seven. Unfortunately for Melbourne, who were the only other team to ever lose to University by over 50 points (in 1908), nothing much has changed and 101 years is NOT a long time in footy.

 

THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED

 

• The traditional Mother’s Day Massacre was put back a day as St Kilda trounced (a popular word around 1908) Collingwood by 88 points, their highest margin ever against the Magpies.
  
  
• The gap between 2^nd and 3^rd spots is three games. Never before in VFL/AFL history have we had such a wide gap between two adjacent spots on the ladder as early as round 7.
  
  
• And that of course means the rest of the ladder must be pretty even. A single game separates 3^rd from 14^th. This is also a round 7 first.
  
  
• The Zac Dawson renaissance has led to another first. Monday night’s Magpie mauling was the first time in history St Kilda has won against Collingwood with a player whose first name starts with Z.

 

THAT’S ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED

 

• Stung by the Dogs reducing their percentage to less than 200 last week, the Saints responded emphatically. Their percentage of 208.2 is the highest Round 8 percentage since Essendon in 1911. The only teams that have had a percentage of over 200 later than round 8 are West Coast 1991 (Round 9), Fitzroy 1900 (Round 11) and Essendon 1898 (percentage 202.1 at the end of the 14-round home-and-away season!)

 

LESS THAN 4 NO MORE

 

Another week without a sub-4-point margin makes it seven rounds in a row. 1962 was the last time that happened.

 

BEHIND IN FRONT

 

Something else for the Cats to crow about: they are well in front in the behind count with a total of 111 so far this year. Next best is Essendon on 97.

 

THIS WEEK’S VINTAGE YEAR

 

The way the Hawks capitulated against Essendon on Friday night was reminiscent of the Moldavians against the Poles in the Battle of Obertyn in 1531. How appropriate then that Hawthorn’s four-quarter goal sequence was 1,5,3,1.

 

DÉJÀ VU

 

Did anyone watching the Geelong-Sydney match have a strange sense of familiarity in the second half? Well it wasn’t without reason. Geelong’s 3/4-time score of 12.10 (82) was identical to Essendon’s the night before, as was their final score of 17.14 (116). But wait there’s more: Sydney kicked 3.1 (19) in the second quarter; and again in the third quarter; and AGAIN in the last quarter. [Insert spooky Twilight Zone music here…]

 

SCORE WARS – Round 7 Update

 

There are unconfirmed reports that West Coast deliberately chose not to score in the last 15 minutes of their match against Melbourne, purely to give the score 90 the outright lead in this competition. (The reports are unconfirmed largely because I just made them up.) The Eagles got their wish and 90 has now been scored on five occasions this year, edging ahead of 67, 86, 100, 111 and 116 which have all registered four times.

 

THE MARGINAL MEDAL.

 

This looks set to go down to the wire with 4 and 8 hitting back this week to join 43 and 17 in the lead. All four margins have occurred three times this year.

 

YO-YO

 

This week it was Adelaide’s turn to drop out of the Yo-Yo award. Their loss to the Dogs made it two in a row. This leaves only the Collingwood (LWLWLWL), and Sydney (LWLWLWL) yoyos still spinning. This fight for vacillational victory could potentially keep going until round 12, which is when these two sides meet.

 

GOOD OMEN OF THE WEEK

 

St Kilda have been hogging the good omens of late, so in a nice change, this week’s good omen is for Collingwood. However, the omen does still involve St Kilda. So far this year, every team St Kilda has beaten has come back and won the following week. That’s good news for Magpies and bad news for Blues in round 8.

 

POSTCODE OF THE WEEK

 

Slim pickings in the postcode stakes this week, but hidden away in the score details was the fact that Collingwood’s quarter-by-quarter goal sequence and North Melbourne’s quarter-by-quarter point sequence were both 1,0,2,2. The Australia Post website provides us with the curious fact that 1022 is a postcode specifically dedicated to Time Magazine in Sydney. One can only infer from this that Footy Show and footy club supremos, Eddie McGuire and James Brayshaw both see themselves as one day being Time’s Man of the Year.

 

THIS WEEK’S RIDICULOUS FOOTY ANAGRAM:

 

Sorry Tiger fans, but you’re in the gun again this week. With Terry Wallace a goner as coach, at least according to Caro in Tuesday’s Age, it was good to see young Daniel Jackson come out and say the players “wholeheartedly” support their embattled mentor. This feeling is revealed in the letters of Terry Wallace: “WE ALL CARE, TRY…”