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Why the Storm win and the Dragons don’t

R&WTILLIDIE

First Grade
Messages
5,158
R & W,
BUT is it the coach or all those inept advisers and helpers that we employ ?? ( tongue in cheek I know ) -- this is what supercoach would say to defend his position ...................
I blame Hornby and Demetriou for the Dragons being so piss poor over the past 10 years. I’m sure I’ll be blaming Flanagan soon too. Surely it’s not McTeflon’s fault.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Why the Storm win, and the Dragons don’t: Every NRL team’s ‘purity score’ revealed
NRL Premiership
  • May 5, 2020 12:40pm
  • by The NRL Economist
  • Source: FOX SPORTS
c71dd68a1508f69dc6bd9a01ca26fe5f

Why are the Storm consistent winners, but the Dragons aren’t?Source: AAP
Why do the St George Illawarra Dragons consistently underperform, despite the array of big name recruits such as Corey Norman, Ben Hunt and James Graham in their line-up?

Simple. No team purity. Meaning they retain high quantities of experience, just not with each other.

Comparing the total number of club appearances to total NRL appearances, gives an indication of the purity of a team’s roster. The higher a roster’s purity, the longer that squad has played together, forming those connections and combinations so crucial to building a team. Not a list, but a team.



Paul McGregor’s squad currently has the highest total of overall experience with 2484 NRL appearances across their roster. Yet only 1167 of these games were actually played in the red V, meaning the squad has a very low team purity score of 47%. Their 2019 team purity score was even worse at 41.41%, which unsurprisingly led them to a second last position on the ladder.

Their roster strategy favours the importing of experienced high-profile players. These injury-prone and now civilised family men do not add to the identity of the team, but rather dilute it with their external experience, leading to poor on-field results.

In contrast, the Melbourne Storm have always maintained a pure team, scarcely recruiting expensive big names. The team instead commits to retaining its own experience, and recruits cohorts of talented rookies who can be moulded into the team’s unique identity. Their team purity score of 86% positions them to be a cohesive team, with long-held relationships, and more likely to adhere to a coaching strategy distinct as their own.


The Storm are aware that the capacity for any player to perform above their contractual value diminishes with experience, with the highest value extracted early in playing careers.

There is also a saturation point of overall NRL experience that teams must not burden their cap with. Anything above 2000 total NRL caps appears to be junk surplus, yet still drains your team’s salary cap, with around 1900 appearances being the sweet spot that most Premiers across the last decade have sat around. The Dragons squad now sits at 2484 games.

So what’s the solution for McGregor? In the tricky world of transfers, experienced campaigners encumber a salary cap with a lower propensity to perform above their newly appraised contractual value. Experience cannot be transferred and should only be valued if it was performed at their current team.


Linking a player’s salary with his talent rather than his experience is crucial. Targeting gun rookies and moulding them into a ‘Wollongong’ culture is the key. That Wollongong culture cannot be a collage of imported experience.

The Dragon’s fan base have forged a reputation as the most demanding supporters in the competition. From ‘Save our Saints’ to ‘Oust Doust’, their passion is only rivalled by their own unique identity.

Perhaps their recruitment team can take a lesson from that.

‘PURITY SCORE’: EVERY NRL CLUB RANKED

1. Melbourne Storm

Total Club Appearances: 1697 | Total NRL Appearances: 1973 | Team Purity Score: 86.0%

2. Canberra Raiders

Total Club Appearances: 1509 | Total NRL Appearances: 1830 | Team Purity Score: 82.5%

3. Brisbane Broncos

Total Club Appearances: 1508 | Total NRL Appearances: 1859 | Team Purity Score: 81.1%

4. Sydney Roosters

Total Club Appearances: 1763 | Total NRL Appearances: 2228 | Team Purity Score: 79.1%

5. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Total Club Appearances: 1352 | Total NRL Appearances: 1903 | Team Purity Score: 71.0%

6. North Queensland Cowboys

Total Club Appearances: 1380 | Total NRL Appearances: 2049 | Team Purity Score: 67.3%

7. Penrith Panthers

Total Club Appearances: 932 | Total NRL Appearances: 1409 | Team Purity Score: 66.1%

8. South Sydney Rabbitohs

Total Club Appearances: 1104 | Total NRL Appearances: 1742 | Team Purity Score: 63.4%

9. Wests Tigers

Total Club Appearances: 1407 | Total NRL Appearances: 2383 | Team Purity Score: 59.0%

10. Cronulla Sutherland Sharks

Total Club Appearances: 974 | Total NRL Appearances: 1757 | Team Purity Score: 55.4%

11. Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

Total Club Appearances: 1013 | Total NRL Appearances: 1865 | Team Purity Score: 54.3%

12. Parramatta Eels

Total Club Appearances: 1052 | Total NRL Appearances: 2115 | Team Purity Score: 49.7%

13. Gold Coast Titans

Total Club Appearances: 988 | Total NRL Appearances: 2036 | Team Purity Score: 48.5%

14. St George Illawarra Dragons

Total Club Appearances: 1167 | Total NRL Appearances: 2484 | Team Purity Score: 47.0%

15. New Zealand Warriors

Total Club Appearances: 903 | Total NRL Appearances: 2174 | Team Purity Score: 41.5%

16. Newcastle Knights

Total Club Appearances: 764 | Total NRL Appearances: 1861 | Team Purity Score: 41.1%

The NRL Economist is an award-winning freelance writer across 15 years. He also teaches Media Studies as well as having majored in Economics | Follow on Twitter @theNRLeconomist

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...d/news-story/0c6d64ade952b677ecbc6aea9a283010
 

hazzbeen

Bench
Messages
4,617
Settle everyone we will win the premiership this year ....... Mary to prove everyone on here wrong ..... Go the the Storm ......
 

muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
Not to mention potatoes also give us useful things like chips, fries, hash browns, potato gems, scallops, vodka and spud guns..

Vote 1 - potato to coach come May 28..
 

BLM01

First Grade
Messages
8,938
Why the Storm win, and the Dragons don’t: Every NRL team’s ‘purity score’ revealed
NRL Premiership
  • May 5, 2020 12:40pm
  • by The NRL Economist
  • Source: FOX SPORTS
c71dd68a1508f69dc6bd9a01ca26fe5f

Why are the Storm consistent winners, but the Dragons aren’t?Source: AAP
Why do the St George Illawarra Dragons consistently underperform, despite the array of big name recruits such as Corey Norman, Ben Hunt and James Graham in their line-up?

Simple. No team purity. Meaning they retain high quantities of experience, just not with each other.

Comparing the total number of club appearances to total NRL appearances, gives an indication of the purity of a team’s roster. The higher a roster’s purity, the longer that squad has played together, forming those connections and combinations so crucial to building a team. Not a list, but a team.



Paul McGregor’s squad currently has the highest total of overall experience with 2484 NRL appearances across their roster. Yet only 1167 of these games were actually played in the red V, meaning the squad has a very low team purity score of 47%. Their 2019 team purity score was even worse at 41.41%, which unsurprisingly led them to a second last position on the ladder.

Their roster strategy favours the importing of experienced high-profile players. These injury-prone and now civilised family men do not add to the identity of the team, but rather dilute it with their external experience, leading to poor on-field results.

In contrast, the Melbourne Storm have always maintained a pure team, scarcely recruiting expensive big names. The team instead commits to retaining its own experience, and recruits cohorts of talented rookies who can be moulded into the team’s unique identity. Their team purity score of 86% positions them to be a cohesive team, with long-held relationships, and more likely to adhere to a coaching strategy distinct as their own.


The Storm are aware that the capacity for any player to perform above their contractual value diminishes with experience, with the highest value extracted early in playing careers.

There is also a saturation point of overall NRL experience that teams must not burden their cap with. Anything above 2000 total NRL caps appears to be junk surplus, yet still drains your team’s salary cap, with around 1900 appearances being the sweet spot that most Premiers across the last decade have sat around. The Dragons squad now sits at 2484 games.

So what’s the solution for McGregor? In the tricky world of transfers, experienced campaigners encumber a salary cap with a lower propensity to perform above their newly appraised contractual value. Experience cannot be transferred and should only be valued if it was performed at their current team.


Linking a player’s salary with his talent rather than his experience is crucial. Targeting gun rookies and moulding them into a ‘Wollongong’ culture is the key. That Wollongong culture cannot be a collage of imported experience.

The Dragon’s fan base have forged a reputation as the most demanding supporters in the competition. From ‘Save our Saints’ to ‘Oust Doust’, their passion is only rivalled by their own unique identity.

Perhaps their recruitment team can take a lesson from that.

‘PURITY SCORE’: EVERY NRL CLUB RANKED

1. Melbourne Storm

Total Club Appearances: 1697 | Total NRL Appearances: 1973 | Team Purity Score: 86.0%

2. Canberra Raiders

Total Club Appearances: 1509 | Total NRL Appearances: 1830 | Team Purity Score: 82.5%

3. Brisbane Broncos

Total Club Appearances: 1508 | Total NRL Appearances: 1859 | Team Purity Score: 81.1%

4. Sydney Roosters

Total Club Appearances: 1763 | Total NRL Appearances: 2228 | Team Purity Score: 79.1%

5. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles

Total Club Appearances: 1352 | Total NRL Appearances: 1903 | Team Purity Score: 71.0%

6. North Queensland Cowboys

Total Club Appearances: 1380 | Total NRL Appearances: 2049 | Team Purity Score: 67.3%

7. Penrith Panthers

Total Club Appearances: 932 | Total NRL Appearances: 1409 | Team Purity Score: 66.1%

8. South Sydney Rabbitohs

Total Club Appearances: 1104 | Total NRL Appearances: 1742 | Team Purity Score: 63.4%

9. Wests Tigers

Total Club Appearances: 1407 | Total NRL Appearances: 2383 | Team Purity Score: 59.0%

10. Cronulla Sutherland Sharks

Total Club Appearances: 974 | Total NRL Appearances: 1757 | Team Purity Score: 55.4%

11. Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

Total Club Appearances: 1013 | Total NRL Appearances: 1865 | Team Purity Score: 54.3%

12. Parramatta Eels

Total Club Appearances: 1052 | Total NRL Appearances: 2115 | Team Purity Score: 49.7%

13. Gold Coast Titans

Total Club Appearances: 988 | Total NRL Appearances: 2036 | Team Purity Score: 48.5%

14. St George Illawarra Dragons

Total Club Appearances: 1167 | Total NRL Appearances: 2484 | Team Purity Score: 47.0%

15. New Zealand Warriors

Total Club Appearances: 903 | Total NRL Appearances: 2174 | Team Purity Score: 41.5%

16. Newcastle Knights

Total Club Appearances: 764 | Total NRL Appearances: 1861 | Team Purity Score: 41.1%

The NRL Economist is an award-winning freelance writer across 15 years. He also teaches Media Studies as well as having majored in Economics | Follow on Twitter @theNRLeconomist

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...d/news-story/0c6d64ade952b677ecbc6aea9a283010
What a rubbsh article and a stat to pull. Take Smith out and Melb drop to middle of the field
Parra go OK. It was fine for Wayne Bennett when he assembled half a new squad in 2009.
Another excuse and blame shift for McGregor. Its their recruitment policy. Not his coaching policy.
@possm will love this
Just that Mary plays the biggest part of who they target for recruiting anyway
 
  • Like
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Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,406
C0450443-6802-426A-80C4-46B8D5B29571.jpeg

Vindication ! Thank goodness , sanity finally prevails , here it is in black and white . The crappy performances of the Dragons were not my fault after all . You knuckleheads would not listen to me , but that know-all Nellamy from Melbourne had the deck stacked in his favor .
 
Last edited:

muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
View attachment 38112

Thank goodness , sanity finally prevails , here it is in black and white . The crappy performances of the Dragons were not my fault after all . You knuckleheads would not listen to me , but that know-all Nellamy from Melbourne had the deck stacked in his favor .
Don’t be so harsh on yourself..
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,406
Don’t be so harsh on yourself..

Thank you muzby , just to let you know that I myself read your posts and believe that you are one of the most knowledgeable members of the forum , I also post here myself but under one of those Ali’s or alias or whatever there called .

Anyway keep on rooting for me ginger-nut , er you know what I mean - thanks Uncle Fester .
 

George Dragon

Juniors
Messages
1,985
What a rubbsh article and a stat to pull. Take Smith out and Melb drop to middle of the field
Parra go OK. It was fine for Wayne Bennett when he assembled half a new squad in 2009.
Another excuse and blame shift for McGregor. Its their recruitment policy. Not his coaching policy.
@possm will love this
Just that Mary plays the biggest part of who they target for recruiting anyway
Taking Smith out would change both columns so there would only be a small percentage change. For the stats to change dramatically Storm would have to sign players with 100 plus games at other clubs and Storm don't do that.
This points out Marys biggest flaw, his inability to coach.
He has a preference for experience because of it.
 

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