Saturday 9^th September 2017

AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC

Welcome to the very first Stat Attack Preview: Finals Edition.

There’s no need to go on with how much this game means to all of us, so let’s get straight into it and look at the numbers between these two sides.

Last Ten Matches

Last 10 games sees the Storm with a 6 – 4 advantage over the Eels. The Eels hold the current bragging rights via winning the only clash this year (albeit during the Origin series).

Score Aggregate

Eels – 146

Storm – 264

Score Average

Eels – 15

Storm – 26

Quick Facts

• The Eels and Storm have played each other 32 times
• Storm lead with 19 wins to Eels 13
• They’ve played each other 5 Times at AAMI Park
• The Eels have won 2 of 5 at AAMI Park.
• Parra’s highest score at AAMI Park is 26. Rnd 14, 2015
• This years win at AAMI Park was the Eels highest winning margin – 16
• 2017 – Eels won 16 games and lost 8. Points for on average was 20.7 and points conceded was 19.0
• 2017 – The Storm won 20 and lost 4. The Storm score at an average of 26.4 per game and concede 14.0 per game.

By Quarters (and Golden Point)

By going off these numbers, the Eels will need to start strong and have a good lead going into half time. The 2^nd half will likely be about defence and trying to hold out a fast finishing Storm team.

The Eels went through the whole 2017 season unbeaten when leading at half time. On no less than 14 times they went into the sheds ahead and completed the game still in front. This was an outstandingly consistent feature of the Eels season. The Storm lead 17 times at half time and We’re run down on three occasions. Both teams won twice when down at oranges.

Attack:

*average per game (Ranking)

 The statistics were surprisingly close in a couple of these attacking KPIs, but the Storm certainly demonstrate their Premiership credentials in Line Breaks and Set Completions. 

Defence:

*average per game (Ranking)

It’s stating the obvious, but the Eels really have to hit and stick in their defence. The Storm pride themselves on having a steely defensive line, and that’s certainly supported by these numbers. 

Discipline:

*average per game (Ranking)

The Storm are the most penalised team in the competition, a title earned by their propensity to push rules to the limit. However, the Eels fair little better, and frustratingly they barely earn penalties. It’s not unusual to see Parra earn zero or perhaps only one penalty in a half of football. If the penalty count trend continues this week for the Eels, it could be a long night.

Don’t let the hype fool you. The stats show a close encounter looming – it’s not impossible to beat the Storm.

It has been a bit funny with the tributes regarding Cameron Smith’s record breaking game. Yes it is a tremendous feat, but it seems as though a lot of people are forgetting this is a semi final. Many have already written off the Eels for this match, but matches aren’t won on paper.

For me, the more people think that, the better. It just throws more and more pressure on the Storm.

The Storm are very methodical in both their attack and defence, but an unpredictable Eels side can spoil that for a team that thrives on structure and discipline. Yes the Storm’s last two wins have been exceptional and showcased how clinical they can be. But make no mistake, this has been achieved on the back of Cameron Smith, with Cronk and Slater slightly below their best in attack.

The Storm rely on good go forward from their own territory then shift to the edges for Addo-Carr and Vunivalu to run riot.

The Eels edge defenders need to work hard in this and shut down the Storm’s ball shifting especially as the Eels use a very compressed defensive line. This organisation was seen in the Broncos game where Semi got found out. No doubt Bellamy will be using a game plan to utilise that.

The Eels edge need to stay in line and work for each other. No shooting up out of the line, as Smith has a sixth sense of players doing that..

If Parramatta just play their natural game, I believe they can make solid statement to the rest of the competition.

Yours in Blue and Gold

Colmac

Stats courtesy of Champion Data. All these stats and more can be viewed on our match centre at http://mc.championdata.com/nrl/ including live game stats.

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