By the numbers: Round 1

Storm vs. Broncos

29 – The number of line engagements by the Storm. This topped all teams in Round 1 by a staggering 45% (Cowboys 20 and Sharks 19 were the next best). This extraordinary level of engagement led to the Broncos being overworked and under siege all night, contributing to Melbourne’s round leading 39 tackle breaks, 1,960 Run Metres and the most importantly, the victory over the Broncos.

72 – The Broncos ranked dead last with just 72 supports in Round 1. This is less than half the total of the top side, West Tigers, who were credited with 149 while their opponents, the Storm, were 4^th with 129. The top 5 teams in Supports, and 8 of the top nine, enjoyed a win on the weekend, the Sharks being the lone exception. Do not sleep on this stat as it has become a strong predictor of success in the modern NRL and an area Coach Seibold and his troops next address ASAP before their clash with the Cowboys this week.

 

Knights Vs. Sharks

553 - The Knights ranked 2^nd with their Supports at 132 (noticing a trend here?) but even more impressively they also topped the charts with 553 Post Contact Metres in Round 1. This outpaced the sharks by 73 and strongly contributed to the Knights taking the points in Round One.

12 – Handling errors by the Sharks in Round 1, the 2^nd worst total of the Round. This was 7 more than total of the Knights, who had 5 which was good for 3^rd best in the league. In a one score game Penalties and Turnovers are crucial, an aspect of the game the Sharks will left be rueing.

 

Roosters vs. Rabbitohs

9 – The number of dummy half Jake Friend. Friend played one of the finest games of his career on his way to a whopping 68 tackles (1^st in the comp) at 94.4% efficiency with 42 run metres, 89 kick metres, a try and a stunning 92 Fantasy points to start the year. Friend was a clear winner of Scoop’s “gave all he could in a losing effort” player of the week.

15 – The Roosters league-worst 15 errors in Round 1. This included a league-worst 14 handling errors, 5 more than the victorious Bunnies. Lousy conditions won’t cover this one as most games were heavily marred by rain and the Tri-Colours will need to address it on the training track this week.

21 – The Bunnies ranked second best in the comp with just 21 missed tackles in Round 1, only the Warriors with 13 were better. The consistent strong tackling from the Rabbitohs stifled the Roosters attack and limited their attacking options all game long leading to the win for the Redfern faithful.

 

Warriors vs. Bulldogs

40 – The Warriors score from the weekend. While the Warriors also led the NRL in Tries, Goals, Linebreaks and missed tackles, the old adage is true; score more points than your opponent and you win the game. The Warriors certainly embraced this on the weekend while piling it on the hapless Bulldogs.

38 – Missed tackles by the Bulldogs. The Warriors missed just 13 in the same game for a massive difference of 25. These missed tackles led to gaping holes in the line and easy run metres and offloads for a rampaging Warriors outfit. Plenty of work on the tackle bags needed this week for Dean Pay’s men before their clash with an impressive Eels outfit.

 

Tigers vs. Sea Eagles

149 - Impressive in their first-up win over the Sea Eagles, the Tigers led the way with a league-leading 149 supports (there’s that stat again!), 17 more than the 2^nd placed Knights and a whopping 57 more than their foes, the Sea Eagles. This strong support play from the joint venture contributed to their 1,740 Running Metres, good for 3^rd in the comp. An improved running game appears to be a strong focus under new coach Michael Maguire and the early results look promising for the Tigers.

1,353 – The total Run Metres for the Sea Eagles, 4^th worst in the league. Despite a vaunted pack featuring Marty Tapau (74m) and Jake Trbojevic (107m), the Sea Eagles were simply outplayed through the middle of the park although Addin Fonua-Blake (198m) at least left with his head held high. Compounding this was Turbo Tommy replacement Brendan Elliot’s contributing just 74m run where T. Trbojevic averaged 175.05m per game last year. The Eagles simply can’t get Turbo back quick enough.

 

Cowboys vs. Dragons

287 – Jason Taumalolo ran wild over the Dragons with an incredible 287 Run Metres to lead all players in Round 1. The human wrecking ball who averaged 178m in 2018 and 205m in 2017 looks set to unleash on the Rugby League world this season, with many records in genuine danger of being obliterated.

385 – The Dragons made the second most tackles of any team in Round 1 (Panthers tops with 400) showing the lack of ball and overworked defence that led to their eventual demise. With the Hunt/Norman/Widdop troika still very much finding their way (see link below for an excellent article on this very topic) and Tyson Frizell set to miss the next few rounds through injury it will be interesting to see the toll this takes on the their tackle efficiency, which sat at 93.25% over the weekend and Scoop will be tracking closely from here, along with the wear and tear on their already stretched forward rotation.

 

Panthers vs. Eels

60 – The Eels Possession rate in Round 1, tops in the comp. Complementing this the Blue & Yellow conceded just 2 penalties in the game (tied with the Warriors for 1^st) proving the old adage, if you keep possession and don’t give away penalties, you’ll win. Brad Arthur’s squad exemplified this on the weekend and will be looking for a repeat performance this weekend against a struggling Bulldogs outfit.

40 – The Panthers had just 40% of the Possession against the Eels in a horror round one showing. In addition to leading the comp in errors and tackles made along with finishing 2^nd worst in completion rate (62%), the lack of Possession showed just dominant the Eels were before the Panthers attempt their now typical late game heroics. But you can’t score when you don’t have the ball and for too much of the game, for Panthers fans, the ball was with the Blue & Yellow.

 

Raiders vs. Titans

18 -  The Raiders led Round 1 with a league-high 18 runs out of dummy half. Cleary a focus this year and further confirmation that Josh Hodgson has recovered from last year’s injury woes, the Raiders caught the Titans napping a number of times on the weekend, exploiting them for cheap metres and penalties. Stay tuned over the coming weeks to see if the rest of the competition catches onto to Hodgson’s dashes or if the Englishman has taken the next step in his already impressive game.

11 – The Titans we plagued by ill-discipline on the weekend with a competition worst 11 Penalties against the Raiders. Compounding this was a morose 64% completion rate on their sets, 4^th worst in Round 1. Giving away extra sets while failing to complete your own is a surefire recipe for disaster as Garth Brennan’s troops discovered on the weekend. Will need to lift for this week’s clash with the Sharks at Shark Park.

All stats courtesy of NRL.com

For more on the Dragons early season woes, check out Zero Tackle's piece: https://www.zerotackle.com/the-dragons-teething-problems-we-all-saw-coming-42046/

Agree or Disagree? See something else in the numbers? Let’s hear it in the comments. Got a topic or theory you want to be tested with the data? Drop me a line and don’t forget to check out more of Scoop’s in-depth analysis of the numbers at https://fairhallmatt.wixsite.com/scoop-sportsanalysis

Trust in the data!

        Scoop.