Pure Footy: Stats men David King, Daniel Hoyne lift lid on AFL trends after round 20

Why not Collingwood? The Magpies rank alongside recent premiers in one key area, but can they contend in 2022? Watch a new episode of Pure Footy here.

Collingwood’s defence ranks alongside Melbourne’s last year and Richmond in its 2020 premiership season.

That’s enough to convince North Melbourne champion David King the Magpies should be in the flag conversation this year – but Champion Data analyst Daniel Hoyne has one reservation.

Debating Collingwood’s premiership credentials on Pure Footy, the weekly AFL analysis show exclusive to heraldsun.com.au, King said the Pies have a game style to upset the Demons on Friday night.

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Collingwood has won 10 matches in a row, including seven by six points or less, and Hoyne said their profile was built on attacking the corridor, and brilliant team defence.

The Pies’ overall without the footy ranking is currently No.1 in the AFL. Almost every recent premier has ranked in the top four in this stat – the Demons were No.1 last year and the Tigers were No.3 in 2020.

“Looking at the last two premiers and what their without the footy profile looked like, it’s not too dissimilar,” Hoyne said.

Jack Ginnivan and the Magpies are on a 10-match winning streak. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“The common theme is they have all been No.1 at winning the ball back between the arcs.

“Collingwood is the No.1 team this year at winning the ball back between the arcs, their pressure is the highest in the competition, and their ability to hold up in their D50 is up there with the best in the competition.

“They are hard to beat, and they’re going to be hard to beat.”

But Hoyne said the Pies rank outside the top six in the other three aspects of the “core four” premiership profile, which could hurt them in finals.

“Whether or not they have enough assets outside their without the footy profile to throw back at Melbourne and Sydney and Geelong, is the interesting part.

“It’s a race in three at the moment. It could be a race in four if Collingwood performs to a high level on Friday.”

Hoyne revealed his predicted top four on this week’s show, with Taylor Walker, Tim English and Fremantle’s “slow death” also on the agenda.

Originally published as Pure Footy: Stats men David King, Daniel Hoyne lift lid on AFL trends after round 20