In a new feature to collingwoodfc.com.au, “Stat Attack” will feature an in-depth look into Collingwood statistics provided by Champion Data.

In front of the second largest crowd to view a match this season, Collingwood shutdown Carlton’s prolific forward line and held them to four goals (lowest score since round 4, 2007 v West Coast 39 points).

This week’s Stat Attack focuses on the quick ball movement by the Magpies as a key factor in the Friday night win.

Running bounces
Collingwood had a staggering 73 running bounces for the match, 46 more than Carlton (27).  The Magpies featured 14 players contributing at least once in this statistic with Heath Shaw racking up 17 running bounces (Shaw is second in the competition with 76 bounces, his older brother Rhyce is first with 134).  Alan Didak was next best with 11 while veteran defender Simon Prestigiacomo, who only had six disposals for the match, finished the game with nine running bounces.

Carlton’s marquee midfielder Chris Judd did not register a statistic in this category while Marc Murphy had five, the most for his side.

Play on after mark
The majority of Collingwood’s run through the midfield stemmed from out of defence led by captain Nick Maxwell.  The skipper played on after a mark 80% of the time (8).  Young gun Jaxson Barham, Dale Thomas and Cameron Wood rounded out the top four with five each.  Overall the Magpies had 52 for the match compared to Carlton’s 45.

Random stat – inside 50s
Carlton had the slight edge on Collingwood with inside 50s, 56 to 55.  The Magpies had an even spread of targets with Travis Cloke receiving six, Tarkyn LockyerJohn Anthony (4), and Paul Medhurst (3).

Prestigiacomo’s shutdown role on Brendan Fevola is even more impressive considering the Blues’ midfield went to him 12 times during the night.  The next highest was young ruckman Matthew Kreuzer on four occasions.