Keeping Consistent
Is consistency more important than perfection?
After looking at players getting better and getting worse in consecutive weeks in recent times, it seems like the logical thing to do would be to look at players who have racked up the same statistics week in, week out.
Let’s take a look at the data.
Table: Player(s) with longest consecutive streak of registering the same number of a particular statistic
| Statistic | Games | Player(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Kicks | 6 | Will Minson (six kicks) |
| 6 | David Swallow (11 kicks) | |
| Handballs | 8 | Barry Richardson (eight handballs) |
| Disposals | 5 | 10 different players (ranging from five to 29 disposals) |
| Marks | 9 | Noel McKernan (one mark) |
| 9 | Oscar McInerney (one mark) | |
| Goals | 10 | Gryan Miers (one goal) |
| Tackles | 9 | Stuart Wigney (one tackle) |
| 9 | Scott Welsh (one tackle) | |
| Hit outs | 7 | Peter Jonas (one hitout) |
| Bounces | 6 | Byron Schammer (one bounce) |
| Clangers | 9 | Tom Lonergan (one clanger) |
Data correct prior to Round 11 games. Excludes players who failed to register a statistic (e.g., went 10 games without kicking a goal).
The thing that I find most surprising when I look at the table above is how many players only register one of a particular statistic but manage to do so for multiple weeks on end. In some respects, only having one of something for multiple weeks in a row would be a good thing (e.g., Lonergan’s nine weeks with only one clanger). But on the other hand, going nine consecutive games with only one tackle might not fly in today’s game.
It’s also worth noting that while the disposals record is held by 10 different players, the tiebreaker and outright record should arguably belong to Shane Mumford, who had two stretches of five consecutive games where he registered the same number of disposals in a row: seven disposals in 2009, and 11 disposals in 2016.
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.