Saints Ahoy! - Game 15 and the season to date

In game 15, Saints beat Catalan Dragons, and there was the expected yellow card. https://www.saintsrlfc.com/2024/05/31/saints-down-the-dragons-at-the-totally-wicked-stadium/ Because there always is at least one card. 

I'm not sure why Saints vs Dragons always ends up violent (I have theories, they're all rude and start with calling them Wigan Sud) but they always do. This time it was one of theirs that got the yellow card, although Saints were already leading by then. 

The other big news was that this was the return of Agnatius Paasi to the team. And we like having him, for he is large and good. Saints were very careful with him, only giving him 20 minutes. 

After game 15, there is still no pattern to when Saints score:  

Percival still leads the point-scorers, as he should as the kicker (also 4/4 tries converted in game 15)  

Welsby is still ever-present when Saints score.  

The thing that intrigues me about this chart is that you have a clear group at the top who are very frequently present (Welsby, Blake, Hurrell, Lomax), then a drop to the group that are often together who have very similar numbers (between 70 and 90), then another few where it tails off before 'boof' big drop to the injured non-presents. 

This is borne out by the matrix graph of players who play together when Saints score. For the darker section (play together more often when Saints score), we've not got a solid 17 players:  

The 17 are, in figure not necessarily positional order, Welsby, Blake, Hurrell, Lomax, Dodd, Percival, Makinson, Batchelor, Bennison, Mbye, Clark, Sironen, Bell, Whitley, Mata'utia, Lees and Delaney. I will return to their being 17 players in the "frequently together" section when we get to the "matrix diagram for when Saints concede". 

The network graph is unclear.  

It looks like Knowles is creeping out of the main section as his injury break gets longer. 

Although there have been 15 games, there are only 13 teams on the "Who has scored against Saints?" bar chart because 2 teams were nil-ed. 

If we look at when Saints concede, the pattern previously identified (https://fulltimesportsfan.wordpress.com/2024/11/16/saints-ahoy-game-14-and-the-season-to-date/), of Saints conceding in minute 9-11 gets even stronger.  

Of the 57 times Saints have conceded, 9 have come in minute 9-11, almost 16 percent, in those 3 minutes. It also looks like there might be a weakness in the last 10 minutes too, but that's probably exhaustion and everyone conceding more then. 

L has asked me to come up with a "why then?" theory. Best I have is it tiredness when it's the opponent's third set and that might mean more likely to concede 6-agains which might lead to scores. But I have no data to back this up. (NRL.com style data, my kingdom for NRL.com style data) 

Welsby is also ever present when Saints concede.  

Next we have the matrix graph of players who play together more often when Saints concede. This time, the darker group of players who play together more often is only 16 players. I think this is because often, when Saints concede, it is because someone has been carded and is either in the sin bin or off entirely. 

The 16 are (again in figure not position order), Welsby, Lomax, Hurrell, Dodd, Mata'utia, Blake, Makinson, Delaney, Clark, Bell, Bennison, Sironen, Whitley, Percival, Batchelor, Knowles. I think Lees not being in here is because of that. 

The network graph is also less clustered for the point-concessions, possibly because there are fewer of them.

Formula 1 - Monaco Grand Prix 2024

For reasons to complicated to explain here, I was looking forward to watching the Monaco Grand Prix this year. Normally, I'm busy doing something else, or I haven't got access to Sky, or whatever, but this year, I was going to get to watch it and enjoy.

Enjoy was probably the wrong word.

I am a Ferrari fan. I am also a Charles Leclerc fan. And he is cursed (https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/what-charles-leclerc-s-f1-monaco-gp-curse-all-ferrari-driver-s-peculiar-luck-home-race). I was watching it to see exactly how his Monaco curse was going to happen this year. Because, you know, never even finished his home Grand Prix in any formula is a thing.

So I sit down in front of the TV, having begged to be allowed to watch it. Because somehow, he'd qualified first and this time he hadn't binned it on the formation lap (did I mention cursed?).

It's Monaco, there is no overtaking. If he can keep it in a straight line, there is hope.

Then I'm told 'no, no, no, you can't watch, no one else wants to watch it,' and I'm like "fine". I go into the back room and put in my headphones, I will watch as God intended, on the radio.

I get as far as the red flag.

And suddenly, visitors, so no, I can't listen. And I'm okay with that, there's a flag, it might take time to restart and anyway, I can rewind and listen.

The visitors leave.

I am now about an hour behind and having to avoid TV and internet so I don't find out in advance.

Of course, I inevitably do.

Equally inevitably, no-one will let me watch the highlights show so I only get to see it in the +1 hour version, so 5 hours after everyone else, I finally get to see Leclerc cross the line.

I am so happy.

Please find the highlights of the race, which by the way was terrible and I don't care, here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeCI0ObFY8M

Saints Ahoy - Game 14 and the season to date

For a reasonable summary, if you ignore the entire focus being on Leeds when they lost, with not even an interview with Wellens at the end, please see here - https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/articles/c877le40j6eo 

My notes have me be-moaning and be-wailing Batchelor injured and a decidedly probable injury to Johnny Lomax because nothing else is going to make him come off the pitch in the 35th minute and not come back at any point afterwards. Welsby is now the only ever-present for every St. Helens point-scoring moment. 

It also featured Tommy Makinson's 200th try for Saints, appropriately a Tommy Mak special (second try in this is the type of thing I mean - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nob6v8W8VB0). 

In terms of the data, it now looks like this.  

Lomax is unexpectedly pale in the matrix chart for game 14, compared to how central he normally is.  

He's not even on the network graph for the game! Now, let's look at the season to date: 

Who scores for Saints?  

Percival, who also kicks conversions, has the most, followed by Lomax and Welsby. Knowles and Batchelor have the least, but they have been injured. And their job is to run into people so other people can score. 

There is still no pattern to when Saints score  

The same chart coloured in by scorer: Who is present when Saints score?  

Because of Lomax coming off in minute 35 of game 14, Welsby is the only ever present. Followed by Blake and Lomax. That's how many point-scoring moments came against Leeds. The three players present for the least number of point-scoring moments are Ritson, Davies and Stephens. Davies has been injured, Stephens is new and no-one knows why they haven't been playing Ritson.  

The network graph looks like this:  

The shape is interesting, because it's now 17 players in the middle, the same as a match day squad. The players are Mata'utia, Sironen, Bell, Dodd, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Mbye, Blake, Welsby, Bennison, Clark, Batchelor, Delaney, Lomax, Whitley and Lees. Around the outside are Stephens, Davies, Walmsley, Wingfield and Knowles have either been injured or, in the case of Stephens, are the replacement for an injured player. 

Who scores against Saints?  

The one set of data that is starting to show a pattern is the "when do Saints concede?" graph:  

Of the 53 times Saints have conceded, 8 have come in minute 9-11, a full 15 percent, in those 3 minutes. That's definitely a pattern. 

Who is present when Saints concede?  

Again, it's similar to the who is present when Saints score bar chart but the players that are higher in this one (Dodd is noticeable) is interesting. 

The matrix for "Who is present when Saints concede?" is also similar to the "Present when Saints score" matrix diagram. There are only 16 players in the centre of the "players present together most often when Saints concede".  

The central 16 are Knowles, Bennison, Whitley, Mata'utia, Makinson, Welsby, Hurrell, Blake, Dodd, Sironen, Batchelor, Lomax, Delaney, Clark, Percival and Bell. Around the outside are Walmsley, Wingfield, Ritson, Lees and Mbye.

Formula 1 - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2024

This has been delayed as I desperately tried to remember anything about this Grand Prix.

I remember nothing.

This is probably not a good sign about the race.