Streaks of Scoring x Many Goals in a Quarter
Can North Melbourne continue a particular trend with their goal scoring?
Last week Swamp, the legendary sports statistician, posted a great observation about how North Melbourne had kicked three goals in both the first and third quarters of their last five games.
It got me thinking about whether this was some kind of record for the club.
Their first quarter effort is one week short of their largest streak – the Kangaroos went six consecutive games kicking three goals in the first quarter between rounds 3 and 8 in 1986.
However, their current run of five games with three goals in the third quarter equals their best, matching their performance from round 22 to their Grand Final victory in 1975.
This means North Melbourne have a chance to tie one record and set another if they kick exactly three goals in the first and third quarters of their game against Richmond this Saturday – adding another layer of excitement to the game that will most likely decide who wins the wooden spoon this year.
“But what about the other clubs?”, I hear you ask.
Worry not, as I have that data as well.
Note: the table above only lists the highest amount of goals scored during the streak, and does not account for if a team has achieved that streak on multiple occasions.
For example, Adelaide have gone four consecutive weeks kicking only three goals in the first quarter on two occasions (in 1996 and 2008) but have also gone four consecutive weeks kicking two goals in the first quarter (in 1999 and 2010).
While most teams are pretty consistent, typically going between three and five consecutive games with two to four goals in a quarter, there are a few performances that stick out.
One such example is Fremantle’s streak of nine games with three goals in the final quarter, which ran from round 18 last year to round 2 of this year.
The Dockers went 5-4 during this period.
The Brisbane Lions’ run of four games with six goals in the third quarter is also quite interesting, which happened at the end of the 2000 home and away season (rounds 19 through 22).
The Lions were undefeated during this period.
Fitzroy and Hawthorn also deserve a mention, as they are the only two teams to have consistent streaks across each quarter (five weeks with varying numbers of goals).
Let’s see if North can make history on the weekend.
The timeframe of this stat is limited based on what data are freely/easily available and/or accessible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you spot any errors in what I have presented.