NOT SO long ago, the Cats were the uncontested-possession kings.

The pattern usually began in defence when Matthew Scarlett, Corey Enright and Darren Milburn zoned off their opponents to cut off the opposition's attack and begin a wave of possession back down the field.

The ball was brought through the middle with an exhilarating chain of short kicks and handballs. Sometimes it seemed as though half the team had shared the ball before it was kicked into the Cats' forward line.

In Geelong's halcyon days of 2007 to 2009 it had up to 160 more uncontested possessions than its dizzy rivals.

In recent times, that pattern has been reversed. In the six matches since round 12, the Cats have won the uncontested possession count only once, against Adelaide in round 14. The differential in that game was 64.

In round 15, Essendon gained a tactical advantage when it refused to play into Geelong's hands by panicking in the middle of the ground and bombing the ball up forward, where one of the Cats defenders would mop up.

The Bombers chipped the ball around the middle with handball and short kicking so often that the Cats were forced to go after them. The key factor here was that the Bombers didn't panic; they maintained possession rather than bombing forward.

Essendon's scoring chances arose through patience and weight of possession.

The Bombers had 112 more uncontested possessions - an unthinkable statistic not so long ago - and pulled off a mighty upset by inflicting on Geelong its first defeat.

Even the Brisbane Lions won the uncontested possession count against Geelong at the Gabba on Sunday, by the healthy margin of 31. Geelong, of course, overrode this shortfall to win comfortably, by 29 points, by dint of quality and experience.

So do these constant losses in the area of uncontested possession mean that Geelong is going off the boil?

The short answer is no.

Under Chris Scott, the Cats' game-plan features less kamikaze handball through the middle of the ground.

And while opposition teams are going out of their way to stymie the Cats' creative defenders, the ball is still finding its way into the Geelong forward line in sufficient style to have the Cats second on the ladder with only two losses.

Deledio back to the future

BRETT Deledio has won two Richmond best and fairest awards, which means he must be a handy footballer. You wouldn't know it if you listened to the naysayers among Richmond fans and opposition fans over the course of this season.

According to Champion Data's statistics, Deledio's form is much the same has it has been since 2008, when he won the first of his successive best and fairest awards.

His average disposals over the past four seasons have been: 24.4 (2008), 25.2 (2009), 25.3 (2010) and 25.0 (2011).

His uncontested possession counts are much the same, as are his inside-50s. His clearances were down in 2010, which is the year he didn't win the best and fairest (Jack Reiwoldt did) but they've doubled to 2.8 per game this year.


If there is a knock on Deledio, it springs from the fact that the number of possessions has gone up across the board in recent seasons. To reflect that trend, Deledio should be closer to 30 average possessions.

But the biggest knock from fans seems to be that he's played at half-back rather than in the midfield. A player of his talent should be played more around the ball.

That's a coaching decision. Maybe he just serves the team better in the back half.

When stats lie

THE statistics from the Sydney Swans and Fremantle game at the SCG on Sunday were so even that it's difficult to ascertain just how Freo eased out to an 11-point victory.

Fremantle had three more possessions and one more uncontested possession. The Swans had two more contested possessions, so it's all about even on the disposals front.

The Swans had 10 more marks but Freo had three more contested marks and two more marks inside 50. This suggests, at a pinch, that the Swans took their marks in defence or in the middle, while the visitors were slightly better up forward.

The Swans won the inside 50s (by seven) while Fremantle won the rebound 50s (by three).

None of these differentials are substantial. What is beyond dispute, however, is that the one team had a clear edge in the ruck and in the clearances—and it wasn't the victor.

Swans ruckman Shane Mumford had a whopping 52 hit-outs, a tally that put him on the third line for hit-outs in a match this season (see below).  It's more significant, however, that Mumford had 19 hit-outs to advantage, which is the most this season.

As a comparison, Fremantle's ruckman, Jonathon Griffin, had 25 hit-outs including five to advantage.

Mumford's dominance enabled the Swans to have a clear edge in clearances, 53-40. And the final differential of 13 was less than it had been for most of the day.

The Swans established their superiority in clearances in the first term when they had 17 to Freo's two. And yet the score was level at quarter-time, 3.2 (20) apiece.

Early in the third quarter, the Swans were leading the clearances by 23, and yet the scoreboard failed to reflect that dominance. Clearly, Fremantle was efficient and dangerous after the ball had broken from congestion.

In essence, Freo won because they were better able to convert when they got the ball inside their forward 50. They had 11 goalkickers while the Swans had eight.

A wider spread of goalkickers served them well.

Will Minson broke Champion Data's hit-outs record when he had 56 against Collingwood in round three. Below him this season are Todd Goldstein (53 twice), Aaron Sandilands (53), Matt Leuenberger (52) and now Mumford (52).

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs