Gold Coast clearance king Matt Rowell's big game doesn't match up with Paul Salmon, but it all comes down to measurement

Gold Coast clearance king Matt Rowell's big game doesn't match up with Paul Salmon, but it all comes down to measurementThat quote in itself may have been a lie; there is no record of Disraeli saying it.Numbers are to be relied upon and trusted until they can't be.

Rowell regularly put in effort before the ball was thrown to get himself into the best possible position to win the ball or prevent Richmond from escaping easily. He even successfully sharked some Tigers hit-outs, predicting the opposition targets.By the end of the game Rowell had accumulated 10 clearances from centre bounces and 10 more around the ground. He also racked up nine score involvements, four score launches, a game leading five tackles and 463 metres gained.

either the clearing kick regardless of effectiveness, or the first effective disposal in a possession chain that exits the stoppage.According to a close review of the footage, Salmon "only" appears to have accumulated 16 clearances across the course of the game that windy day at Waverley. There are a couple of "edge" cases, given the somewhat subjective definition, but where possible the benefit of the doubt was given to Salmon.

There are potentially several factors in play. Firstly, 1998 was the first year that Champion Data was the official statistics provider of the AFL. While the company had recorded some descriptive stats for the sport before, 1998 was a big leap forward. There were also several new measures being recorded at scale, including clearances itself.

To that degree at least one of Rowell's clearances from last week's game is borderline or dubious, especially considering other clearances credited to him. In some cases, records are more likely to hold. For example, it's unlikely tackles were ever as high as they are now given the footage that remains.

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