Author: Sean

With the regular season of the AFLW in the books (along with week one of the finals), thought turns to who deserved nods in the All-Australian team. While most analysts take a primarily subjective view on these honours, HPN has taken a more data-driven view, based on Player Approximate Value

Over at the ABC today, HPN has contributed its AFL men’s season preview for the national broadcaster. Of course, there’s some stuff that is best kept for the dark backalleys of private websites. That’s right, it’s HPN AFL Men’s preview time. After dark.* *may not be after dark in your

There’s a million ways to win a game of football, but only three broad ways to win the ball. The potential of football is only truly unlocked when a team gains control of the ball. Without the ball, you can’t score. As HPN has written in the past, football is

If the concept of the draft brings renewal to a sporting team, then having the number one pick provides immediate hope. In the history of the AFLW to date, the Western Bulldogs have lived at the top end of the draft more than any club, selecting two players at number

Within all the hubub of player exchange, Melbourne continued their efforts to trade into the 2020 draft as discussed earlier. According to Draftguru the Demons only have a very limited number of list spots. As a result, Melbourne has converted their lower picks down the order to a small number

Free agency has been a part of the modern AFL since 2012, and in its ninth season, we have seen a first. Free agency, in its current form, comes in three parts. The first is unrestricted free agency, and grants a player who has been at their club at least

There’s always a couple of surprising names thrown up in the trade window who sometimes attract the attention of a couple of clubs. Often these names never rise above whispers, drowned out by the shouting about stars. After the big moves and drama of the final hours of the trade

During every season list managers and club staff have to work out their wants against their needs when it comes to players. This happens not only to external players and potential draftees, but also internally. Clubs might organise their list on a whiteboard or computer into a few columns, shifting

All AFL players, especially those picked up at the pointy end of the draft, burn to play at the top level. It’s easier for most to find a solid footing in bottom teams than to break into a perennial finalist. GWS drafted Jye Caldwell at pick 11 in 2018 –

Not all of the motivation for moving players is transparent to fans and the media on the outside of the TPP bubble. Players are sometimes traded for slightly more or less than what their true value would be considered to be. With the trade of Tom Phillips to Hawthorn, the