NRL Release Stats That Blow Player Fatigue Argument Out Of The Water

Chris Harding

Steam Powered Dog
Premium Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Messages
11,088
Reaction score
11,628
You can cherry pick stats to suit any argument. If the number of covid cases went up from one to three, you could argue that a 300% increase of covid related cases is a disaster for the country.

The NRL are a bit like governments bringing out stats to prove the economy is going gangbusters. L:ike the economy, it's the ones who are left behind that know how bad things really are.
 

Como Dog

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 21, 2017
Messages
3,233
Reaction score
3,781
The NRL has released new data that emphatically disproves the theory that the new rules implemented over the past two years has led to players never being more fatigued.

The information is in contrast to the assertions coming from players, coaches and former players that the speed of the game is impacting on onfield performance and leading to more errors.

The NRL said in a statement that “the below data of key football and fatigue related indicators in the game and corrects some misconceptions about the changes in the game over the last two years".

“One of the most important roles of our football department is to collate data on every aspect of our game. We make significant investments in this area because it’s important we understand exactly what is happening on the field,” the statement read.

“It enables us to improve player welfare and assists in enhancing the fan experience.

That data highlights the following matters:

While there’s a perception the players have never been more fatigued, the data simply does not support that assertion.

- Players who are fatigued are more likely to make errors – yet the error rate over the last three years has remained flat. The error rate today is almost the same as the error rate before the new rule changes.

- Players are running about 500m less per game this season than last season and consistent with the number of metres run in 2019.

- There’s now 7.7 tries per game compared to just over 6.6 in 2019. That means the players are getting more stoppages for tries this year than previous years. The increase in tries coincides with players running faster from tackle breaks and in open play. The average distance covered at more than 20km per hour has risen from 255m per game in 2019 to 299m per game in 2021. Player speeds at more than 25km have risen moderately from 47m to 53m over the same period.

- Fatigue does not appear to be impacting on field performances or decision making. Players aren’t making more errors, they are not running more metres and they are getting more breaks because there are more tries.

“We will continue to meticulously monitor the data and if there is a negative trend we will address it. Player welfare is our absolute priority and if there were any signs that fatigue was having a negative impact, we would act immediately,” the statement concluded.
You can make any argument you want with raw data and stats. Doesn't mean its right or in this case relevant.

As many have said errors aren't the definitive indicator of what's going wrong with the game eg speed, fatigue, injuries & score blow outs.

This is the same bullshit PR diversion tactic as when the NRL released those figures on 3rd party agreements by club, to protect the Roosters, Broncos & Storm etc. They avoided the real issue which in that case was individual 3rd party agreements that are supposedly not club affiliated, which they couldn't report on anyway..
 

Malla

*********
Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
10,870
Reaction score
13,470
Can't be true, fatigue is obviously measured through the use of a complex and objective algorithm and not based on the "feelings" of players.

You might think you see teams on their haunches and obviously gassed anywhere from 10-20mins in, but it's just an illusion and we're all fucking idiots according to the horse fucker (credit to whoever coined that on here)
Huge OK
 

Malla

*********
Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
10,870
Reaction score
13,470
but why are teams defending 2-3 sets in a row?
should the defending team be rewarded with penalties to set their line when they are breaking the rules

im all for 6 agains tbh , I do think they should have kept scrums tho
I am not against that, I think teams should be rewarded too, but I dont like the NRL saying fatigue isn't a factor when it clearly is.
 

TwinTurbo

Kennel Legend
Gilded
Joined
Oct 22, 2018
Messages
9,346
Reaction score
15,416
In my view this is pretty simple;
  • The NRL told us that the Set Restart rule was introduced to provoke more player fatigue.
  • The NRL told us that more player fatigue means more errors.
  • The NRL now tells us that there aren't more errors.
  • Hence the rule change hasn't achieved their aim and should be rolled back.

  • The NRL told us that the Set Restart rule was introduced to have the ball in play longer.
  • The NRL now tells us that the ball isn't in play any longer.
  • Hence the rule change hasn't achieved their aim and should be rolled back.

  • The NRL told us that the Set Restart rule was introduced to make the game more open.
  • The NRL now tells us that players are running less distance per game.
  • Hence the rule change hasn't achieved their aim and should be rolled back.

Whether we agree or disagree with the NRL's use of the statistics, the undeniable fact is their own assessment of the statistics proves that the Set Restart rule has not achieved any of its stated objectives and should be rolled back. Yep, it is that simple.

Go Dogs
 

wendog33

Kennel Immortal
Premium Member
Ladder Champion
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Messages
24,741
Reaction score
27,950
The article from the link above:

"Putting a man like this in charge of a sport and letting him play with the levers like a drunk monkey"

Love it.

The coup to overthrow Vlad has begun.
 

SPEARTAKVIDREFS

Kennel Addict
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
6,802
Reaction score
8,406
I've also noticed this year that a lot of somewhat iffy calls don't get replayed by 9 or fox. It's a case of 'nothing to see here, let's just move on'.
youll notice this off forward passes that lead to tries. They play front on angles etc and 1 - 2 replays. With all the camera angles and technology at their fingertips. The commentators usually keep quiet too. Its more CH 9 which Ive decided now not to watch anymore except SOO.
Im probably just paranoid and hinging on conspiracy theorist which really isnt my thing.
 

_G-Dog_

Kennel Legend
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
13,298
Reaction score
7,726
Complete BS.. game.is faster.. less breaks.. less ways of slowing it down.. has led to a more attack orientated so the better attacking teams liek the Rorter$ & Storm were advantaged overnight.. funny Robinson had a say in the rule chanhes..
 

Alan79

Kennel Legend
Joined
Mar 10, 2007
Messages
13,193
Reaction score
18,940
Just got round to reading the article. Having done a lot of scientific papers at University, I know that you can handpick statistics to make whatever point you want to and they've pretty much just twisted the ever changing narrative here. It did go from "fatigue will make the game more attack based and entertaining" to "there isn't more fatigue but the game is now more entertaining". Might be the case for the few teams topping the ladder. But all I've heard from a huge number of fans is that it's shit to watch boring predictable games where only one team has a shot at winning.

At the start of this season I was sad about the fact that the hours I was working were going to prevent me watching a lot of our games. At this point I have watched less than four games all year despite my work schedule changing. No doubt some of our deficiencies as a team are on the club/players/coaching staff. But overall the simple fact of the matter is the game now just gives very little chance for underdogs to come out on top. Seeing more tries might be a win for Vlandys. But for the average fan of the game who knows the names of both teams playing, seeing just one team score the bulk of those tries feels like a dud game.

Vlandys couldn't be doing a worse job if keeping the fans happy is the end goal. Most league fans I've spoken to struggle to explain why decisions have been made by referees. If keeping the broadcasters happy is the end goal he's also doing shit. If making the game less prone to upsets so the gambling agencies have an easier job of taking gamblers money is the goal, he's absolutely nailed it this year.

Unfortunately this article isn't from one of the big media companies. They tend to tow the company line. For some reason they're of the belief that NRL fans are mushrooms, "keep them in the dark and feed them shit".
 
Top