After being unable to discover a top-four spot for the Saints in his energy rankings on radio final week, the Kangaroos nice is now satisfied after Champion Data analyst Daniel Hoyne revealed some exceptional numbers on this week’s episode of Pure Footy.
In a stat Hoyne described as “unbelievable”, the Saints have misplaced simply three of 23 contests of their defensive 50 this yr, with Callum Wilkie, Dougal Howard and Josh Battle, particularly, proving very tough to beat one-on-one.
“A lot of credit has gone to their runners, and rightly so, but that back six or seven is holding up significantly well under a bit of pressure at times,” Hoyne mentioned.
“Their doing a lot right in terms of what they are doing without the footy, so hats off to them.”
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With the Saints boasting 4 of the highest 20 possessions winners within the defensive half – Brad Crouch, Jack Sinclair, Wilkie and Liam Stocker – their two-way working has been key to an unbeaten begin to the yr.
But what proves they could possibly be the true deal in 2023 is what Lyon’s facet is doing with out the ball.
“Other than Melbourne this year, there is no other team who has a better without-the-footy profile,” Hoyne mentioned.
“That profile their stacks up and historically suggests that if that continues for the next four-to-five months, they are looking at finishing top six.”
Hoyne famous the Saints “still have a little bit of work to do with the footy if they are to get to that top-four marking”, however King is onboard.
“I’m now a believer,” he mentioned.
“I’m coming around … I’d still like to see them do it against a good team and we get to see that in Gather Round this week against the Pies.”
The punters agree, with TAB’s Jaimee Rogers confirming they’ve taken 5 instances more cash on the Saints than Collingwood forward of Sunday’s conflict.
On one other large episode, Hoyne and King additionally dive into Port Adelaide’s “strange” win over Sydney and reveal Richmond’s large drawback, Christian Petracca’s sizzling begin and the competitors’s hall kings.
Originally printed as Pure Footy: Stats males David King and Daniel Hoyne on the large traits after spherical 4
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
