Friday Focus – Sydney v West Coast

In the first Friday Focus column for the year from Champion Data and afl.com.au we look at the enthralling rivalry forged by Sydney and West Coast.

THIS Saturday night at Telstra Stadium the game's great modern day rivals will battle once again for supremacy.

Aside from the dramas involved in this fixture – West Coast will be without Ben Cousins, and it is a rematch of last year's grand finalists – it is also an intriguing battle from a statistical point of view.

And the recent rivalry can be traced back to round 11, 2002.

Since that clash neither side has won consecutive matches. In the past 11 matches, the streak looks like this: West Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Sydney, West Coast, Sydney and West Coast.

Incredibly, the past five clashes have been decided by four points or less. The last two matches have been decided by one point – the 2006 first qualifying final and the grand final.

This is a fascinating pattern considering the teams' contrasting styles.

West Coast sticks to its guns and backs itself, while Sydney's plan is to restrict its opposition as much as possible.

Consider the numbers from last year that support this argument: Disposals: West Coast (365 – ranked No.1), Sydney 300 (ranked No.16) Kicks: West Coast (208 – No.10), Sydney (198 – No.14) Handballs: West Coast (157 – No.1), Sydney (102 – No.16) Contested possessions: West Coast (121 – No.1), Sydney (112 – No.3) Uncontested possessions: West Coast (243 – No.3), Sydney (186 – No.16)

West Coast averaged 17 more contested possessions than its opposition in 2006 – a number never seen before by Champion Data.

West Coast was the first team to handball its way to a premiership, averaging 147 handballs per game and debunking the myth that overusing the football is not an effective style of play.

Superstar Chris Judd averaged 12 contested possessions per game in 2006 and was ranked No.1 in the competition.

On the other hand, Sydney's outstanding defence saw it concede the fewest disposals, kicks, handballs, marks, long kicks, effective kicks and marks inside 50 in 2006. The Swans also conceded the second fewest inside 50s.

Sydney was also the leading tackling team in the AFL last year, with Brett Kirk (123 tackles) ranked second and Jude Bolton (120) third in the competition.