How Freo beat Collingwood
Both Fremantle and Hawthorn had good wins in round nine. Freo’s win came off the back of a big increase in winning the contested ball.
Freo rank 13^th in the AFL for contested possessions in 2020, averaging 116 per game. Against Collingwood, they amassed 151 contested possessions, led by Nat Fyfe (18), David Mundy (15), Caleb Serong (14) and Connor Blakely (12).
For context, Port Adelaide leads the AFL with an average of 125 per game in 2020.

How Hawthorn beat Carlton
Hawthorn’s convincing 31-point win against Carlton was seen as a return to form. While Hawthorn didn’t see an uptick in any major statistical categories, they did see an increase in their efficiency going inside 50.
In 2020, Hawthorn have retained possession from 45 per cent of their inside 50s. Against Carlton, this grew to 53 per cent. It was off the back of an impressive showing from tall forward Jack Gunston. Hawthorn retained possession 75 per cent of the time when kicking to Gunston, who had seven marks and three goals for the game.

Pressure factor explained
Fox Footy have introduced the ‘Pressure Factor’ to their broadcast this year. While the number indicates how much pressure a team is applying, there’s little context.
Last week, Champion data tweeted to explain how it is calculated.

Clear as mud?
Against Collingwood in the final term, Freo’s pressure factor was maxed out at 231.

It lead to the commentators joking that they’ll need to build a bigger chart.
Based on Champion Data’s explanation above, the lowest possible value for the Pressure Factor is 75, where every single one of the opposition’s last 100 possessions came from a mark or a free kick.
The maximum value is 375, where every one of the opposition’s last 100 possessions resulted in a tackle.
To reach a pressure factor of 231, Fremantle would on average be pressuring the ball carrier for each of the opposition’s last 100 possessions.
Not sure if that makes it any clearer, but it’s a start!

More on pressure
A much clearer and easier way to judge a team’s pressure is simply to look at the tackle count. This season, Freo ranks 15^th for tackles with an average of 46.7 while Hawthorn ranks 13^th with an average of 47.9.
While Freo’s tackle count is low on average, there is still an implied pressure. Freo average 252 pressure acts per game in 2020, which is the second highest in the AFL.

Where’s Fyfey?
We all know Nat Fyfe is spending more time forward this season, but how much time forward?
In 2020, Fyfe is spending 21.4 per cent of his time in the forward 50, which is the highest of any season in his career.
He is also spending 63.5 per cent of time in the midfield, which is the lowest of any season in his career.
Fyfe’s time in defence has also increased to 15.1 per cent, which again is the highest in his career.
Last year against Hawthron, Fyfe went forward and was dominant with three goals. Will he be able to repeat this feat on Monday?