Foot and hand passing plummets as GAA reveal amount of two point shots per game
One of the more interesting stats from the Championship to date is that handpassing is down compared to last year from an average of 450 per game to 390.
Meanwhile, foot passing is also down, from 131 per game to 89.6 per game.
However, in the old game many of these foot passes were just kicked short and sideways. This is still going on but not to the same extent.
The stat the GAA probably needs here is forward kickpasses over 25 or 30 metres, or something similar.
So, with hand passing and foot passing both down this effectively means that attacks are being constructed quicker with more shots being taken.
Scores are up from an average of 30.7 points per game in the 2024 Championship compared to 36 points per game this year to date.
Kickout retention has dropped from 84percent to 61.4percent. Contested kickouts are up from 26percent last year to 61.9 percent this season, reflecting a huge increase in competition for possession around the middle of the field.
Accuracy levels have also increased with the shot to score ratio going up from 52percent to 56.8percent, despite players in all likelihood going for more long range shots due to the option of the two pointer.
The extra space afforded to the shooter in an 11 v 11 scenario and the additional room to carve out simpler shots are also likely to be factors here.
The average number of two point shots per team per game is six each. In the Munster Championship it was just 5.25, while in the Leinster Championship it was 6.45 per team, per game, the lowest and highest provinces.
Turnovers have increased from 27 per game in 2024 to 32.6 per game this summer. Fouls are also up, from 23.8 per game last year to 29.1 per game this year.
This could be viewed as a negative, but it also suggests teams are pressing more and getting in more tackles. The lowest amount of fouls per game is in Ulster at 25.4, suggesting there is still more possession play in the province than the rest of the country.
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