Saturday, 16 November 2024

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. Bar chart showing who scored points.  Percival had 6 point-scoring moments, Welsby 2, Sironen, Mbye, Matautia, Makinson and Clark with 1 each. 

Lomax is unexpectedly pale in the matrix chart for game 14, compared to how central he normally is. Matrix graph.  The line for Lomax is the palest because he went off so early. 

He's not even on the network graph for the game! Network graph of players present for game 14.  The 13 players are Sironen, Bell, Welsby, Hurrell, Dodd, Makinson, Blake, Delaney, Percival, Matautia, Mbye, Clark and Lees. Now, let's look at the season to date: 

Who scores for Saints? Bar chart.  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. 

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 Bar chart presenting when Saints score by minute.  There is no pattern. 

The same chart coloured in by scorer: Same bar chart as above, but coloured in by scorer.  There is no pattern to this one either. Who is present when Saints score? Bar chart showing who is present when Saints score. 
 Welsby is the only ever present, for all 116.  He is followed by Blake and Lomax.  Ritson, Davies and Stephens are present for the least. 

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. Matrix diagram of the season to date.  The top left section is the palest, the central section is the darkest, the players who play together most often when Saints score, is in the middle section, and then the intermediate ones are in the bottom right. 

The network graph looks like this: Network graph.  While the rest of the players are clustered in the centre, the outlying players, Stephens, Davies, Walmsley, Wingfield and Knowles have either been injured or, in the case of Stephens, are the replacement for an injured player. 

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? Bar chart of who scored against Saints.  Hull KR scored the most.  The teams that did not score, are not on here. 

The one set of data that is starting to show a pattern is the "when do Saints concede?" graph: Bar chart of when opponents score against Saints.  Two minutes have 4 point-concession moments, minute 11 and minute 71. 

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? Bar chart of players who are present when Saints concede.  Welsby is the only player always present, followed by Lomax and Dodd.  Least present are Walmsley, Ritson and Wingfield.  Two of those are injured and no one understands why Saints do not play Ritson. 

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. Matrix graph.  Again, the pale, least often together when Saints concede, section is the top left.  The darkest most often together section is in the middle.  With the others in the bottom right. There are only 16 players in the centre of the "players present together most often when Saints concede". The network graph of which players play together when Saints concede.  There is a central core, with, clockwise from 12, Walmsley, Wingfield, Ritson, Lees and Mbye round the outside. 

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.

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