Round 7 is in the books and it’s time to look at one of my advanced rugby league statistics for the Round, Run %. What is Run %? The breakdown of Run % and how it is calculated was posted to Medium in late 2019, and can also be found on the Articles section here on the Eye Test.
“(Run %) is the estimated % of team plays where a player made a run or hit up.”
It is important to note that Run % doesn’t judge the quality of a run, just how often a run is made. It also compliments Tackle %, and combining them procudes Involvement Rate.
If you’re new to my advanced statistics, I break them down on a weekly basis by all players and those who played more than 40 minutes. The main reason for this is that interchange players can produce a higher level of output knowing they are only playing limited minutes. Those who play 80 minutes generally tend to pace themselves and their workrate is a little lower.
The chart below shows the average Run % by position (from 2014-2019) to give an idea of where the typical player falls. Given the highest is front rowers at 12%, anyone over 15% is doing a fantastic amount of work.
With that in mind here’s the leaders in Run % for Round 7.
Some massive numbers here for interchange players with a number of them over 20%, and only three starting players making this list.
Looking at those who played at least half a game, the top players drop down into the 16-17% range with Jason Taumalolo putting in a significant proportion of runs during his 70 minutes on the field.
There are also two fulbacks in this list, with Roger Tuivasa-Scheck in eighth and Joseph Manu in 15th. They average fullback has a run percentage in the 8-9% range, which indicates that Tuivasa-Scheck and Manu were both running the ball significanlty more. It’s not uncommon to see fullbacks among the Run % leaders on a week to week basis and Ryan Papenhuyzen was a fixture there at the end of 2019.
Finally we look at the season Run %, which removes the volatility of week to week performances. Given the amount of minutes played, Jason Taumalolo’s Run % not only indicates how much work he puts in , but also how importanty he is to the Cowboys. With three other Cowboys in the top 10, it also highlights just their lack of forward depth with Molo, McLean and McGuire running the ball higher than 15%.
