Post by Vincent Manns

Data analytics can answer questions that simply watching games can't. Last week, I was surprised by some of the changes Wayne Bennett made to South Sydney's team ahead of their Round 19 match against Newcastle. One decision that stood out was starting Matthew Dufty at fullback ahead of Jye Gray. Having watched every South Sydney game this season, Jye Gray had looked reliable in the No. 1 jersey. On first impression, the change didn't seem obvious. This is where data can challenge our intuition. As of writing this, Matthew Dufty has been the more productive and creative fullback this season, recording an AVR of 42 compared to Jye Gray's 29, while averaging 1.4 try involvements per game compared to 0.7. Does this prove that's why the change was made? No. But it does show how data can provide context that isn't always apparent from the eye test alone. Decisions that initially seem surprising may become much easier to understand when performance is measured objectively. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images #sport #analytics #data #rugbyleague