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In recent times Kurt Tippett has received an onslaught of criticism from the media and fans alike, much of which has been completely uncalled for.
An analysis of a range of his stats has shown that he is actually contributing highly to the Sydney Swans in a variety of ways.
Simply, the media is too tough on the man. Yes, he is not in the greatest form and yes his statistics at first glance don’t look great.
But if you consider the fact that he is working in a Lance Franklin dominated forward line then it is understandable that he is not having the immediate statistical impact you would hope for in an $800,000-plus player.
Personally I think that his basic statistical information (disposals, marks etc.) are misleading and overshadow the other commendable and behind-the-scenes aspects of his game that often go unrecognised, such as the spacing of the forward line that he brings which isolates Buddy, his disposal efficiency, tackling (.9 higher on career average this year), and hit-outs.
He is playing with the best forward the game has seen in a long time in Franklin, which limits his exposure to the ball as the offence is usually run through Buddy. Even working as the number two target up front Kurt has been able to kick a steady amount of goals and has become a consistent goal kicker, usually able to bag a couple per game (1.9 following Round 18, which leaves him in equal 28th for goals this season with 28 goals and 11 behinds).
Kurt is also kicking at 68.3 per cent goal accuracy, which is third out of the top 50 goal kickers! This again shows the reliability of his kicking.
Further he is the only player in the top 30 goal kickers to average more than four hit-outs per game, which highlights his ability to play multiple positions and he is also recording a high disposal efficiency (68 per cent).
I think we also need to look at the role he is playing on the team. As a secondary ruck man (averaging 16.3 hit-outs a game compared to a career average of 8) he is naturally experiencing less ball exposure as is a trend for Ruckmen (Pyke with 7.7 disposals and 29.9 hit-outs per game this season) which can explain the decrease in disposals he’s had.
He is clearly taking whatever role is necessary for the team to be successful and judging by the Swans high position on the ladder, he’s doing what needs to be done.
I think Kurt is a very consistent, versatile and overly criticised player that is always aggressive with the ball. Although basic statistics may not show it, he is actually having a significant impact in games through his tireless effort and work rate.
Kurt has areas he needs to work on, such as increasing his disposals slightly and decreasing his frees against, but he can and will improve, and has been getting better this season with each passing game.
I’m predicting the critical media will have their feet firmly in their mouths come the latter part of the season and finals.
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