Joel Selwood can be the solution to Patrick Dangerfield’s set-shot troubles
PATRICK Dangerfield gets the jitters when lining up for goal but maybe the Cats are sending the wrong midfielder forward. Who are the best and worst set-shot midfielders?
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MAYBE Geelong coach Chris Scott is sending the wrong midfielder into the forward line.
Patrick Dangerfield is arguably the best clearance player in the competition but gets the jitters when lining up for goal.
The Geelong star — and Brownlow Medal favourite — has booted 3.7 from 11 set shots this season.
Dangerfield wasn’t the only culprit in Geelong’s 24-point loss to Collingwood last Saturday, but goalkicking accuracy is a glaring weakness in the superstar’s game.
He missed a sitter just before halftime against the Magpies, and he missed two shots from close range against Hawthorn in his breathtaking 43-disposal debut for the Cats in Round 1.
Since the start of 2015, Dangerfield has had 32 set shots and kicked 12.15, missing five others, at 37.5 per cent, ranked 18th among midfielders.
Cats teammate Joel Selwood, on the other hand, is the top midfielder for set-shot accuracy — and the rest of the field is not even close.
In the same period Selwood has had half the number of set shots as Dangerfield but has kicked one more goal (13.3) at a remarkable 81.3 per cent (see table below).
The next best is Fremantle veteran Michael Barlow at 68.8 per cent.
The average for midfielders is 50.1 per cent, which is just below the league average of 51 per cent.
This season Selwood has spent 8 per cent of his game time in the forward 50 compared to Dangerfield’s 21 per cent, which makes you wonder why he’s not deployed in attack more often.
Dangerfield has had the second-most set shots among the top 20 midfielders since last season, one less than Sydney’s Luke Parker, who is shooting at 42.4 per cent.
Along with Parker and Dangerfield, Fremantle’s Stephen Hill (50 per cent), Brisbane’s Pearce Hanley (41.2 per cent), Richmond captain Trent Cotchin (29.4 per cent) and Carlton young gun Patrick Cripps (20 per cent) are kicking below the midfield average in the top 20.
TOP 20 MIDFIELDERS FOR TOTAL SET SHOTS (2015-2016)
SOURCE: Champion Data
Originally published as Joel Selwood can be the solution to Patrick Dangerfield’s set-shot troubles
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