Helping hands
Today we look at the players who have created the most goal scoring chances and gained the most assists in the Hockey One League (M) during the first five rounds. The data highlights some of the key play-makers in the competition and hints at the differences in playing styles between the teams.
Assists are a statistic that is measured in many sports (e.g., basketball, football and ice hockey) but not often recorded in field hockey. For those not familiar with the term, an assist is an action that directly results in a goal being scored. Assists recognise the teammate who makes the final pass to a player before a goal is scored. Assists are not recorded for goals scored from rebounds off the goalkeeper or post, nor are they recorded if the goalscorer creates the opportunity by, for instance, tackling an opposing player.
Jack Hayes (NSW Pride) and Matt Willis (Perth Thundersticks) lead field goal assists with three each (see Figure 1). Perhaps surprisingly, Daine Richards (NSW Pride) and defender James Day (Canberra Chill) are in third place with two assists. Day’s ability to throw long overheads with precision has enabled him to find teammates and create goal-scoring opportunities. There are a number of players with one assist through to the end of Round 5.
Figure 1: Most field goal assists after five rounds of the Hockey One League (M).
Assists do not fully capture how many chances players create because they are only recorded for successful shots. To overcome this challenge, we have also recorded key pass data. ‘Key pass’ is a term used in football analytics to record an action, typically a pass, that directly results in a shot but without a goal being scored. By adding assists and key passes, we are able to determine the chances created by players in the Hockey One League (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Most chances created after five rounds of the Hockey One League (M).
Josh Simmonds (HC Melbourne) and Jack Hayes (NSW Pride) have created the most field goal chances for their respective teams over the first five rounds of the Hockey One League. Simmonds figures have been bolstered by HC Melbourne taking the ball outside the five metre line on numerous penalty corners. Simmonds is often the architect of these plays, passing the ball to players inside the circle for a shot and registering as a field goal key pass or assist rather than penalty corner (PC) stats.
The large number of Perth Thundersticks and NSW Pride players on the list reflect the strong ability of these teams to create field goal chances. The Thundersticks and the Pride average 7.0 field shots per game though their average is below HC Melbourne (7.5 field shots per game). Brisbane Blaze, who currently sit at the top of the table, average just 4.8 field goal shots per game, with Corey Weyer and Jacob Whetton instrumental in creating field goal chances for the team.
We have separately recorded PC assists and created a category for inserter assists. PC assists for any pass that directly leads to a goal during a PC phase of play. Stoppers are credited with a PC assist if the stop is immediately taken by a striker into a drag flick, sweep or hit that scores a goal. Inserter assists are only credited if the injector passes directly to a stopper or striker, then a direct shot is taken and a goal scored. Inserter assists cannot occur if the stopper passes the ball outside the battery or the striker passes the ball.
Unsurprisingly, the players with the most PC assists (see Figure 3) and inserter assists (see Figure 4) belong to teams with strong drag flickers. In teams with multiple drag flickers successful stoppers might provide some clue as to the preferred PC option. For instance, Eddie Ockenden seems to be the preferred stopper for the Tassie Tigers with nearly three times as many stops leading to a shot than Tassie’s next best, Jeremy Edwards. Tim Geers performs a similar role for Perth Thundersticks.
Figure 3: Most PC assists after five rounds of the Hockey One League (M).
Hayden Beltz (Tassie Tigers) and Aran Zalewski (Perth Thundersticks) have the most inserter assists after five rounds of the Hockey One League (M). Both Beltz and Zalewski have consistently been the injectors for their teams throughout the competition, and benefit from the strong drag flickers for both the Tigers and the Thundersticks. By comparison, Joel Rintala (Brisbane Blaze) has scored five PC goals from drag flicks utilising four different injectors.
Figure 4: Most inserter assists after five rounds of the Hockey One League (M).
There are two important clashes for determining the final spots coming up in Round 6 - Tassie Tigers host NSW Pride, and Canberra Chill host Perth Thundersticks. Both games feature teams who are strong at generating field goal chances in the Pride and the Thundersticks, against teams who have tended to rely on PCs for generating goals in the Tigers and the Chill. Though, it should be noted that the Thundersticks also have very strong PC phase efficiency too. It will be interesting to see which brand of hockey proves decisive over the next few days.