Results from 2017-18 reveal Richmond has biggest home-ground advantage in the AFL
WE HAD the Gabbatoir and the House of Pain, but there is a new horror road trip in footy. And most teams don’t have to go too far to cop it. SEE THE FULL HOME-GROUND ADVANTAGE LADDER
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FORGET the Gabbatoir and the House of Pain. Travelling to the MCG to play Richmond is now the toughest road trip in footy.
Richmond hasn’t lost at the MCG for almost 12 months, with the Tigers’ winning streak now a club-record 14 games — including three finals (the Round 5 win against Collingwood eclipsed the previous best streak of 11 set by Tom Hafey’s powerhouse team in 1974-75).
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A ladder of results at every team’s home venue since the start of 2017 has the Tigers clear on top with a 90 per cent winning rate.
Putting the “G” in Tigers, Richmond has lost just two of 21 games at the MCG in that time (none this year) and one was a David Mundy goal after the siren and the other a late Sydney surge away from claiming the points in both of those.
Geelong and West Coast have the next biggest home-ground advantages, but both have suffered upset losses at home this season.
Adelaide has surprisingly lost five games at Adelaide Oval since the start of 2017 (including this year’s Showdown to cotenant Port Adelaide) and Sydney’s strike rate at the SCG is just 58 per cent.
Melbourne is on the rise but has won just one of its four MCG games this year, while Collingwood’s 6-14 win-loss record at the home of footy could be cause for concern with eight games to come there this season, starting with Fremantle on Sunday afternoon.
Analyst David King said the Tigers’ success at the MCG all came down to how they defend the ground.
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“There’s a science to how they defend. Nothing is random,” he said.
“They’re a really well organised machine.
“The key to their defence is they defend inside-out — they force you wide. They don’t allow you to switch then you kick the ball to Rance, Astbury and Vlastuin and they win it back.”
King said it was a misconception that the MCG is wider than other grounds, but it was “fatter” around the half-forward or halfback flanks.
“You can switch out of the backline at Etihad Stadium in one-and-a-half kicks. At the MCG it might take three kicks.”
Familiarity with the ground means Richmond players know exactly where to position themselves to defend those kicks, forcing teams to move the ball slower and in straight lines, in effect funnelling opposition attacking moves to star interceptors like Rance.
Richmond’s game plan is tailored to the G:
— The average score at the MCG this year is 85 points. The average score against Richmond there is 66.
— The Tigers average 81 intercepts and 32 forward-half intercepts per game at the MCG, up on the AFL averages of 73 and 25.
— Richmond averages two goals per game more than any other team at the MCG from forward-half turnovers.
One other number from the table also stood out to King — Richmond plays at its home ground more than anyone else. And that also happens to be the venue for Melbourne finals, including the Grand Final.
“Twenty-one games is a lot. Look at other teams they might play in finals — West Coast plays there once (before finals this year), Port Adelaide twice, Geelong seven times, Sydney twice. It is a huge advantage.”
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Originally published as Results from 2017-18 reveal Richmond has biggest home-ground advantage in the AFL
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