According to the AFL’s official number crunchers at Champion Data, history says there are four keys to premiership success, and it’s happy reading if you are a Cats supporter.
Historically, those teams lifting the cup at the end of the season rank either at the top or near the top in four key categories: clearances, post-clearance contested numbers, ball movement and defending the opposition ball movement.
“We’re looking at winning it at the source from a clearance point of view, winning it once it leaves the source, and then how you move it and how you defend it. Because if you can’t move it, and you can’t defend position, you’re stuffed,“ Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne said.
“Of those four key pillars, Geelong come out No. 1. They are the only team that ticks all four boxes.”
The Cats currently rank second in the AFL for clearances, second for post-clearance contests, third for ball movement and fourth for defending ball movement, ensuring they sit in top spot on the stats guru’s premiership pillars ladder, followed by the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne.
Geelong is the only side that ranks in the top five of all four categories.
