Ravenhair
Did I put you off your guard
When I went and closed my eyes?
Your sweet head dropped
And your early-train thoughts
Flew away, out the window
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Finger Points Outwards - No.1
In the wake of my 'seemingly-not-so-exhaustive-after-all' history on Marvel Comics' The Avengers, I was asked to contribute an article to the excellent website Avengers Forever. (I did publicize my Avengers history in the forum of this website... this blog isn't yet well-known enough for me to get random requests.) You can view the article here.
For those people who are Avengers fans, I recommend looking around the rest of the website for other Avengers-related goodies, including reviews, interviews, articles, wallpapers, and so on. (I concede that the odds of an Avengers fan finding the website through this blog rather than the reverse are tiny to say the least.) For those people who still think I'm talking about the Ralph Fiennes-Uma Thurman movie, this article may appeal to you more than the one I posted here - it's shorter and more personal - the type of article that you might expect would appear on my blog (go figure).
Anyway, since most of the articles I've written over the past year have been either comic book or football related maybe it's time I got a suggestion box. Anyone want a running diary of my upcoming trip to Adelaide? 'What Lurks In O'Connell Street' - it practically writes itself.
For those people who are Avengers fans, I recommend looking around the rest of the website for other Avengers-related goodies, including reviews, interviews, articles, wallpapers, and so on. (I concede that the odds of an Avengers fan finding the website through this blog rather than the reverse are tiny to say the least.) For those people who still think I'm talking about the Ralph Fiennes-Uma Thurman movie, this article may appeal to you more than the one I posted here - it's shorter and more personal - the type of article that you might expect would appear on my blog (go figure).
Anyway, since most of the articles I've written over the past year have been either comic book or football related maybe it's time I got a suggestion box. Anyone want a running diary of my upcoming trip to Adelaide? 'What Lurks In O'Connell Street' - it practically writes itself.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Fact or Crap?: AFL Myths Debunked
Fact or Crap?: While many facets of the AFL have improved over the years, goal-kicking accuracy isn’t one of them.
CRAP: Goal-kicking accuracy has been improving ever since the VFL/AFL began. Over the first forty seasons (1897-1936), it improved from 39 per cent to 48 per cent, before dipping a little over the next thirty seasons. However, since the mid-1960s it has been on a clear upward trend, peaking at 55.2 per cent in season 2000. While it has deteriorated a little over the past couple of seasons, today’s players still rank high in terms of goal-kicking accuracy.
Fact or Crap?: The competition is more even nowadays than is has ever been.
CRAP: In terms of the closeness of matches, the competition is basically no more even than it has been since the 1920s. The average winning margin was about 10 points smaller back then, but since the average score was about 30 points smaller, it is fair to say the average game was just as tight. Perhaps games are slightly closer than they were 10 years ago, but the distance between the studs and the spuds still remains.
Fact or Crap?: Non-Victorian teams are less affected by travelling interstate than Victorian teams.
CRAP: Since Port Adelaide entered the AFL in 1997, non-Victorian teams have had a better winning percentage than Victorian teams when they travel interstate, but that partly reflects the fact that they are better teams! When we compare each team’s winning percentage when playing in their home city to their winning percentage when they are playing interstate, the Kangaroos, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs are the three teams that suffer least from playing on the road. In comparison, the chance of either West Coast or Fremantle winning a match is significantly reduced once they fly east of the Nullabor. Most of the other non-Victorian teams don’t suffer too badly in comparison, but they are not the seasoned travellers that many people believe.
Fact or Crap?: It is much harder to win the week after traveling interstate.
CRAP: Below is the combined winning percentage of teams in the week after traveling to different cities since 1997.
The winning percentage for teams the week after traveling interstate is 55.8 per cent, only slightly lower than the overall winning percentage for teams playing in their home city of 56.3 per cent. On the other hand, it appears it is a bit tougher to win the week after traveling to Perth or Sydney.
Fact or Crap?: Collingwood travel interstate less than other Victorian teams.
FACT: Since 1997, Collingwood have played a higher percentage of games in their home state than any other team, with 81.5 per cent. The other ‘big four’ Victorian teams – Carlton, Essendon, and Richmond - fill out positions two to four. Unsurprisingly, the Kangaroos are the Victorian team which travels the most, playing only 68.6 per cent of their games in Victoria.
Fact or Crap?: The mid-season ladder leader has a good chance of winning the premiership.
FACT: The figure below shows the percentage of premiers that have been on top of the ladder after each round since 1931 (before this year, when the final four system was introduced, the minor premiers had a significant advantage in the finals). While there is no more than a one-in-four chance that the ladder leader in any of the first seven rounds will go on to win the premiership, after that, it tends to be about 40 per cent or higher. (The peak is at round 18 which is partly due to the VFL running an 18-match season from 1931 to 1967.)
Thanks to afl.allthestats.com for providing the statistics for this article.
CRAP: Goal-kicking accuracy has been improving ever since the VFL/AFL began. Over the first forty seasons (1897-1936), it improved from 39 per cent to 48 per cent, before dipping a little over the next thirty seasons. However, since the mid-1960s it has been on a clear upward trend, peaking at 55.2 per cent in season 2000. While it has deteriorated a little over the past couple of seasons, today’s players still rank high in terms of goal-kicking accuracy.
Fact or Crap?: The competition is more even nowadays than is has ever been.
CRAP: In terms of the closeness of matches, the competition is basically no more even than it has been since the 1920s. The average winning margin was about 10 points smaller back then, but since the average score was about 30 points smaller, it is fair to say the average game was just as tight. Perhaps games are slightly closer than they were 10 years ago, but the distance between the studs and the spuds still remains.
Fact or Crap?: Non-Victorian teams are less affected by travelling interstate than Victorian teams.
CRAP: Since Port Adelaide entered the AFL in 1997, non-Victorian teams have had a better winning percentage than Victorian teams when they travel interstate, but that partly reflects the fact that they are better teams! When we compare each team’s winning percentage when playing in their home city to their winning percentage when they are playing interstate, the Kangaroos, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs are the three teams that suffer least from playing on the road. In comparison, the chance of either West Coast or Fremantle winning a match is significantly reduced once they fly east of the Nullabor. Most of the other non-Victorian teams don’t suffer too badly in comparison, but they are not the seasoned travellers that many people believe.
| Team | Away winning % | Home winning % | Ratio |
| Kangaroos | 44.4 | 57.0 | 0.78 |
| Geelong | 45.6 | 60.7 | 0.75 |
| Bulldogs | 38.3 | 52.0 | 0.74 |
| Adelaide | 47.3 | 65.2 | 0.73 |
| Sydney | 43.9 | 65.2 | 0.67 |
| Brisbane | 43.5 | 68.9 | 0.63 |
| Collingwood | 29.5 | 47.4 | 0.62 |
| Port Adelaide | 41.8 | 67.2 | 0.62 |
| Carlton | 25.0 | 40.0 | 0.60 |
| Melbourne | 30.0 | 51.1 | 0.59 |
| Essendon | 35.4 | 62.4 | 0.57 |
| Hawthorn | 25.9 | 46.7 | 0.55 |
| Richmond | 25.5 | 46.7 | 0.55 |
| West Coast | 36.2 | 69.2 | 0.52 |
| Fremantle | 25.0 | 55.9 | 0.45 |
| St. Kilda | 23.3 | 55.0 | 0.42 |
| Victorian | 34.8 | 51.9 | 0.67 |
| Non-Victorian | 40.4 | 65.6 | 0.62 |
Fact or Crap?: It is much harder to win the week after traveling interstate.
CRAP: Below is the combined winning percentage of teams in the week after traveling to different cities since 1997.
| City | Combined winning % of AFL teams in week after travelling to city |
| Geelong | 60.1 |
| Adelaide | 59.1 |
| Brisbane | 57.8 |
| Melbourne | 55.9 |
| Sydney | 53.7 |
| Perth | 51.2 |
| Total | 55.8 |
The winning percentage for teams the week after traveling interstate is 55.8 per cent, only slightly lower than the overall winning percentage for teams playing in their home city of 56.3 per cent. On the other hand, it appears it is a bit tougher to win the week after traveling to Perth or Sydney.
Fact or Crap?: Collingwood travel interstate less than other Victorian teams.
FACT: Since 1997, Collingwood have played a higher percentage of games in their home state than any other team, with 81.5 per cent. The other ‘big four’ Victorian teams – Carlton, Essendon, and Richmond - fill out positions two to four. Unsurprisingly, the Kangaroos are the Victorian team which travels the most, playing only 68.6 per cent of their games in Victoria.
Fact or Crap?: The mid-season ladder leader has a good chance of winning the premiership.
FACT: The figure below shows the percentage of premiers that have been on top of the ladder after each round since 1931 (before this year, when the final four system was introduced, the minor premiers had a significant advantage in the finals). While there is no more than a one-in-four chance that the ladder leader in any of the first seven rounds will go on to win the premiership, after that, it tends to be about 40 per cent or higher. (The peak is at round 18 which is partly due to the VFL running an 18-match season from 1931 to 1967.)
Thanks to afl.allthestats.com for providing the statistics for this article.