OK, stats time again. I've gone back through the stats from every test this year looking solely at penalties and TOs conceded.
Let's look at penalties and start with our most disciplined.
10 players used this year did NOT give away a penalty. That includes the likes of Vunivalu, Donaldson, Pollard, Simone, Gleeson and Perese who played less than a half of rugby.
The best of the others are:
Samu Kerevi - 0 penalties in 240 minutes
Tom Banks - 0 in 167
Sio - 0 in 101
Hanigan - 0 in 98
That Sio stat is pretty impressive given he is in a traditionally penalty rich position.
Looking at a Minutes per Penalty perspective, the best of the rest are:
Petaia = 335 (1 penalty in 335 mins)
Hodge = 304
Ikitau = 294 (3 in 884 mins)
Frost = 216
Samu = 204
Impressive stuff by the two forwards there.
At the other end of the scale we have:
Robertson with a penalty every 8.5 minutes (only played 34 mins).
Quade and Pone at 23.50 (both only played 47 mins)
Then we get into the ones that have played real minutes. Most of these shouldn't surprise but they are still concerning.
Tupou gives a penalty away every 30.17 minutes
Slipper - every 34 minutes (has given away the most penalties overall with 21)
Skelton - every 37.33 mins
Porecki - every 37.42
Bell - 37.60
They are the ones giving away a penalty every half they play.
But now to add in turnovers and we come up with a minutes per stuff up (with a multiplier for yellow cards and red cards so not a pure per minute thing, but more an indicator of ill-discipline).
Focusing on the players with over 100 mins of test footy this year the top most disciplined are:
1 - Sio = in 101 minutes of footy, has not conceded a penalty or given away a turnover.
2 - Arnold = 160 mins per stuff up
3 - Kerevi = 120
4 - Valetini = 84.27
5 - Banks = 83.50
6 - Samu = 81.80
7 - Nawaqanitawase = 80
On the other end of the scale:
1 - O'Connor = 15.25 mins per stuff up
2 - Gordon = 19.54
3 - Tupou = 27.85
4 - Skelton = 28
5 - Foley = 29.15 (only 2 penalties but 11 turnovers!)
6 - Slipper = 29.75
7 - Swain = 29.92
8 - Porecki = 29.93
they are the ones making a mistake every half an hour of test footy.
To take it one further step, the most disciplined team we could pick based on form this year (min 80 mins of game play) would be:
15 Tom Banks
14 Mark Nawaqanitawase
13 Len Ikitau
12 Samu Kerevi
11 Andrew Kellaway
10 Noah Loloesio
9 Nic White
8 Rob Valetini
7 Pete Samu
6 Ned Hanigan
5 Matt Philip
4 Rory Arnold
3 Allan Ala'alatoa
2 Lachlan Lonergan
1 Scott Sio
9 from the Brumbies this year
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