“We just butchered the footy,” St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson lamented in the bowels of Etihad Stadium less than an hour after the final siren on Saturday.
Facing the media in his post-match press conference, Richardson said: “They scored too much from our own kick from the back and they scored too much from our poor kick going inside 50.”
And he was spot on.
St Kilda accrued the fifth most turnovers (80) of any side in Round 9 and conceded the most points directly from turnovers of any side with 13.7 (85).
Going forward, St Kilda retained possession from only 40.0 per cent of inside 50 entries (second worst for the round) and marked inside 50 from only 12.5 per cent of entries (fourth worst).
While the word turnover immediately generates imagery of blatant skill errors that prompt commentators to label ‘coach killers’, not all turnovers are the direct fault of the player disposing of the ball.
Monday Wash-Up: Round 9 v Sydney
Champion Data has defined turnovers into two categories: giveaways and takeaways.
Giveaway turnovers are turnovers that directly hand the possession to the opposition, typically via a clanger disposal. These turnovers can be forced (under significant pressure) or unforced (under little or no pressure). These are the band kind of turnover.
Takeaway turnovers are the more forgivable kind and occur when the ball ends in the opposition’s hands after spilling out of a contest when kicked down the line or inside 50.
To emphasise Richardson’s words post-game, St Kilda generated the most giveaway turnovers (49) of any team in Round 9 – 18 more than the round average and eight more than the next worst side.
29 were forced and 20 were unforced. I’m sure you remember these ones vividly.
But while Saturday was frustrating to watch, turnovers haven’t been a major theme in the Saints’ season to date, with Richardson’s team conceding the third least turnovers per game (67.0).
Look for a response against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
